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RURAL    DENMARK   AND    ITS 
SCHOOLS 


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TORONTO 


BISHOP  N.  F.  S.  GRUXDTVIG. 
This  represents  him  as  taken  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood. 


From  a  painting. 


RURAL   DENMARK 
AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 


SPECIALIS 


W.   FOGHT 


SCHOOL   PRACTICE,   NATIONAL   BUREAU 
OF   EDUCATION 


AUTHOR  OF   "THE  AMERICAN    RURAL  SCHOOL,"  ETC. 


Wefo  f£0rfe 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1915 

AB  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1915,        , 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  August,  1915. 


NorfaooU 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PHILANDER   PRIESTLEY  CLAXTON 

UNITED   STATES  COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION 

THAN  WHOM  NO  ONE  IS  A  TRUER  FRIEND  OF  OUR  RURAL 

SCHOOLS  THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 


2052613 


PREFACE 

RURAL  life  in  our  country  is  undergoing  a  most  remark- 
able —  though  very  natural  —  transition.  The  day  of  pio- 
neering is  at  an  end,  and  the  period  of  land  exploitation,  in 
the  midst  of  which  we  have  been  living,  is  likely  to  yield 
soon  to  genuine  husbandman  farming.  Indeed,  new  adjust- 
ments in  national  life  are  forcing  the  changes  upon  us.  We 
must  either  become  a  nation  of  scientific  producers  from  the 
soil  or  we  shall  soon  find  ourselves  reduced  to  the  condition 
of  older  nations  whose  civilization  has  long  suffered  from  the 
effects  of  diminishing  returns.  The  United  States  is  no 
longer  solely  agricultural.  In  fact,  we  are  to-day  half  agri- 
cultural and  half  industrial,  and  our  organized  industrial  cen- 
ters will  probably  continue  to  outgrow  the  rural  communities. 

The  immediate  proof  of  our  unbalanced  national  life  can 
be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  agricultural  production  does  not 
any  longer  keep  pace  with  the  demands  made  upon  it.  The 
Federal  Census  for  1910  shows  that  in  the  ten  years  from 
1899  to  1909  agricultural  production  in  the  United  States 
increased  less  than  10  per  cent,  while  the  population  in- 
creased all  of  21  per  cent.  The  American  boast  has  been 
that  we  can  feed  the  world.  And  yet,  during  the  past  year 
our  imports  in  meat  products  have  far  exceeded  the  exports. 

To  be  exact,  on  the  basis  of  the  Census  of  1910  and  the 

vii 


VU1  PREFACE 

estimated  population  in  1914,  American  farms  are  short 
18,259,000  meat  animals  to  put  the  country  in  the  same 
condition  as  regards  its  meat  supply  as  it  was  in  1910. 
During  the  decennium  the  United  States'  exports  of  food- 
stuffs fell  from  $251,000,000  to  $136,000,000  and  the  imports 
of  foodstuffs  showed  an  increase  of  $13,000,000.  In  spite 
of  our  enormous  area  of  arable  land  and  favorable  natural 
conditions,  the  United  States  has  come  face  to  face  with  the 
question  of  how  to  feed  its  increasing  millions. 

From  this  it  will  appear  that  the  great  problem  of  Ameri- 
can rural  life  is  tied  up  closely  with  agricultural  production. 
It  is  not  so  much  a  question  with  us  of  a  largely  increased 
number  of  producers  —  although  this,  too,  is  desirable  — 
as  it  is  a  question  of  a  largely  increased  production.  Soil 
exploitation  must  be  put  to  an  end  and  scientific  agriculture 
given  its  rightful  day.  Thinkers  generally  are  becoming 
aware  that  one  of  our  greatest  national  sins  is  this  soil 
exhaustion  that  is  actually  threatening  to  undermine  the 
greatest  of  all  our  heritages.  How  to  change  the  prevailing 
indifferent  system  of  agriculture  is  right  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  matter. 

Two  things,  at  least,  should  receive  our  serious  considera- 
tion; viz.,  to  till  the  soil  so  scientifically  that  our  agricul- 
turists may  get  better  returns  on  their  capital  and  labor 
expended  than  they  have  been  getting ;  and  to  make  country 
life  so  attractive  and  wholesome  that  our  farm  population 
shall  be  eager  to  spend  their  lives  in  the  open  country  in- 
stead of,  as  so  many  are  doing  at  this  time,  leaving  the  farm 
just  as  soon  as  they  have  laid  by  a  small  competence  and 
moving  to  the  country  villages  and  larger  towns  where  many 


PREFACE  IX 

retire  from  active  life,  thereby  adding  little  or  nothing  to  the 
sum  total  of  the  productiveness  of  these  centers. 

The  factors  in  this  agricultural  reorganization  are  natu- 
rally many,  but  none  is  greater  than  the  educational  factor. 
Before  much  improvement  can  be  made,  rural  communities 
must  set  up  a  leadership  of  their  own,  such  as  is  now  seldom 
found  there.  The  demand  is  for  men  and  women  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  masterful  action  and  thoroughly  prepared 
to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  present-day  agricultural  life. 
Properly  directed  education  can  best  furnish  this  leadership. 
If  we  have  educated  men  and  women,  the  other  great  prob- 
lems cannot  resist  solution.  The  farmers  will  then  come  to 
realize  with  Moses  that  the  soil  is  holy,  and  that  to  treat  it 
properly  they  must  put  back  into  it  at  least  as  much  as  they 
take  out  of  it  year  by  year.  The  right  kind  of  education  will 
help  the  farmers  to  become  organized  and  so  enable  them  to 
hold  their  own  against  the  centralized  interests  of  city  life. 
In  fact,  every  phase  of  social,  economic,  and  spiritual  retar- 
dation in  agricultural  districts  may  be  expected  to  yield  to 
such  a  new  educated  leadership. 

A  number  of  real  farm  community  schools  are  beginning 
to  spring  up  here  and  there  over  the  length  and  breadth  of 
our  country,  which  are  making  themselves  felt  in  this  agri- 
cultural reorganization.  But  all  this  is  just  a  beginning. 
Our  rural  schools,  as  a  whole,  have  been  unusually  slow  to 
find  their  bearing  in  the  new  transition,  and  many  of  them 
have  become  retarded  in  the  process  and  have  dropped  out 
of  the  vanguard  of  progress  so  that  they  may  justly  be 
blamed  for  much  of  our  ineffective  agriculture  and  the  mov- 
ing away  from  the  land. 


X  PREFACE 

American  people,  naturally  enough,  would  not  care  to 
transplant  to  western  shores  the  school  systems  of  Europe 
—  nor  would  this  be  either  practicable  or  desirable.  But 
we  should  be  willing  to  profit  by  whatever  is  good  in  the 
older  systems  of  the  long-established  agricultural  nations. 
With  this  in  view  the  story  of  rural  Denmark  and  its  schools 
is  written. 

Denmark  found  itself  in  dire  distress,  both  of  political  and 
social-economic  nature.  The  discredited  country  sought  the 
panacea  for  its  ills  in  a  remarkable  school  system  which 
furnishes  a  broad  culture  and  thorough  technical  preparation 
to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  living  in  its  rural  districts. 
The  results  have  been  marvelous.  A  war-crippled  and  al- 
most bankrupt  nation  has,  within  two  generations,  taken  an 
honorable  place  among  the  producing  nations  of  Europe. 
Its  agriculture  is  unexcelled,  both  as  to  the  matter  of  pro- 
duction from  the  soil  and  distribution  of  the  manufactured 
products  to  the  markets  of  the  world. 

The  story  of  Denmark  is  told  in  these  pages  because  the 
writer  sincerely  believes  that  many  of  the  blessings  that 
have  come  to  Denmark  through  its  schools  can  be  ours  if 
we  take  heed  of  some  of  the  things  that  we,  in  our  greater 
industrial  hurry,  neglect ;  but  which  to  the  Danes  have  held 
the  key  to  all  success.  This  need  not  call  for  any  violent 
reorganization  of  the  schools  as  they  now  exist.  It  would 
face  them  more  directly  towards  the  soil  and  give  them  a 
new  spiritual  uplift;  and  it  would,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  provide  the  broadest  kind  of  culture  and  supply  the 
required  technical  skill  for  scientific  farming. 

The  materials  made  use  of  in  the  book  were  gathered  by 


PREFACE  XI 

the  writer  a  year  or  more  ago  while  studying  the  schools  of 
Denmark  and  other  European  countries  for  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education.  Much  of  it  has  appeared,  in  a  some- 
what modified  form,  in  three  bulletins  recently  issued  by  the 
Bureau  of  Education  under  the  titles  :  "  The  Educational 
System  of  Rural  Denmark " ;  "  Danish  Elementary  Rural 
Schools";  and  "The  Danish  Folk  High  Schools."  All 
this  material  has  been  rewritten  and  considerably  enlarged. 
General  acknowledgment  for  assistance  in  gathering  data 
is  due  to  a  great  many  Danish  educators  and  other  gentle- 
men ;  but  such  acknowledgment  was  made  in  the  bulletins 
mentioned  above  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

H.  W.  F. 

WASHINGTON,  B.C., 
January  1,  1915. 


CONTENTS 
PART  I 

THE  RECENT  DANISH  AGRICULTURAL 
REHABILITA  TION 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     RURAL  DEVELOPMENT  DURING  RECENT  YEARS       .        .        1 
II.    THE  STRUGGLE  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  LAND  .      21 

III.  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF    COOPERATION   IN  THE   DANISH 

AGRICULTURAL  SYSTEM 37 

IV.  THE  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  RURAL  DENMARK        ,       ,       .      57 


PART   II 

THE   WORK   OF    THE  RURAL  SCHOOLS  IN  THE 
NATIONAL   REORGANIZATION 

V.    THE  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  IN  GENERAL  OUTLINE      .      68 

A.  THE  ELEMENTARY  RURAL  SCHOOLS 

VI.    THEIR  ORGANIZATION,  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  MAINTE- 
NANCE           78 

VII.     THEIR  MANAGEMENT  AND  METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION  .      91 

VIII.    THEIR  BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS 118 

IX.    PREPARATION,    SALARIES,   AND  OLD-AGE   PENSIONS  OF 

TEACHERS 131 

X.     APPLICATION  OF  THE  DANISH   SYSTEM  TO  AMERICAN 

SCHOOLS 149 

xiii 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


B.     AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER  PACK 

XI.    THE  WORK  OF  THE  LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  .    157 


XII.     SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  AND   SCHOOLS  OF 
HOUSEHOLD  ECONOMICS 


174 


C.     FOLK   HIGH    SCHOOLS 

XIII.  THEIR  EVOLUTION  . 188 

XIV.  THEIR  ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION    215 
XV.    TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS 243 

XVI.    THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  TO  OTHER  NORTH  EURO- 
PEAN COUNTRIES 272 

XVII.    DANISH-AMERICAN    FOLK    HIGH    SCHOOLS    IN    THE 

UNITED  STATES       .        .        .  •     .        .        .        .    292 
XVIII.    FEASIBILITY  OF    ADAPTING    FOLK    HIGH    SCHOOLS 

TO  AMERICAN  CONDITIONS 303 

APPENDIX.    A    BRIEF    STATEMENT    OF   THE    RURAL    LIFE 

MOVEMENT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     .        .  323 

BIBLIOGRAPHY          ,  ,       * 346 

INDEX  .  351 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Bishop  N.  F.  S.  Grundtvig Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 

Ordinary  Specimen  of  Red  Fyen  Cow 1 1 

Good  Type  of  Jutish  Sorrel  Mare    .         .         .        .        .         .11 

Askov,  the  Peer  of  Folk  High  Schools 18 

Svend  Hogsbro,  the  Father  of  Danish  Cooperative  Enterprise  19 

Reforesting  the  Heather 27 

On  the  Way  to  the  Creamery  .         .        .        .         .        .         -41 

A  Typical  Farmers'  Cooperative  Creamery       ...        .        .41 

A  Large  Danish  Farmstead 51 

Smallhold  Farmstead  (Rear  View).     A  Farm  of  Seven  Acres  51 

Dalum  Agricultural  School  near  Odense          .        .        .         .  159 

Small  Agricultural  School  at  Lyngby 159 

Interior  of  a  One-teacher  School 175 

Lecture  Hall  at  Kasrehave  School  for  Smallholders          .         .  175 

Group  of  Summer  Students  at  Kaerehave         ....  175 

Gymnastics  at  Vallekilde  Folk  High  School 253 

Gymnastics  at  Vallekilde 253 

Teacher  Seminary  at  Haslev,  Zealand      .                 .        .         .  255 

Ryslinge,  an  Historic  Folk  High  School           ....  261 

Teacher's  Cottage 261 

Danebod  Folk  High  School  near  Tyler,  Minnesota          .         .  298 
North  Carolina  Mountain  Folk         .         .         .                 .        .314 

Presbyterian  Mission  School  in  the  South  Atlantic  Highlands  314 

One-teacher  Rural  School        .......  341 

Larger  Rural  School 341 

Rural  Church  near  Horsens,  Jutland 344 

Rural  Manse  at  Vallekilde,  Zealand 344 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND 
ITS   SCHOOLS 

PART   I 

THE  RECENT  DANISH  AGRICULTURAL 
REHABILITATION 

CHAPTER  I 
RURAL  DEVELOPMENT  DURING  RECENT  YEARS 

The  Land  and  the  People.  —  Denmark  is  a  very  small 
country,  embracing,  all  told,  less  than  15,000  square 
miles.  It  is  cut  by  sinuous  arms  of  the  ocean  which  have 
left  it  one  prominent  peninsula  and  more  than  500 
islands,  some  of  which  are  mere  sand  bars  of  little  eco- 
nomic value.  The  small  kingdom  has  considerably  less 
than  one  half  the  area  of  Maine,  and  about  one  eight- 
eenth the  area  of  Texas.  The  country  forms  a  part  of 
the  North-European  Lowland  and  is  marked  for  its 
low  rise  above  sea  level.  Indeed,  the  average  elevation 
is  only  about  ninety-five  feet.  The  surface  soil  is,  on 
the  whole,  light  and  in  some  regions  very  poor.  It  com- 


2  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

prises,  in  the  main,  moraine  clays,  strong  in  lime  and 
mixed  with  pebbles,  with  here  and  there  moraine  sands ; 
and  in  central  Jutland,  great  stretches  of  heather  sands 
belonging  to  the  Glacial  Period.  Of  more  recent  origin 
are  the  peat  bogs  common  to  most  of  the  islands,  the 
marshlands  rising  out  of  the  sea  at  Ribe,  and  the  sand 
formations  heaped  up  along  the  northwestern  shore  of 
Jutland. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  nature  has  treated  Denmark  in  a 
stepmotherly  fashion  so  far  as  riches  of  soil  are  con- 
cerned. The  fact  that  the  country  is  producing  great 
crops  from  the  land  is  not  because  of  any  fresh,  virgin 
fertility  or  other  natural  resource;  but  because  of  the 
application  of  a  broad,  general  intelligence  to  the  work 
of  building  up  a  naturally  meager  soil,  forcing  it  to  pro- 
duce more  and  more. 

The  climate,  while  never  extremely  cold,  is  raw  and 
inhospitable  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  This  is  due 
to  the  damp  and  chilly  winds  which  blow  almost  inces- 
santly from  the  ocean.  The  average  annual  precipi- 
tation is  24.94  inches.  Fog  prevails  ninety-four  days 
out  of  the  year,  and  Copenhagen  —  in  a  favored  loca- 
tion—  has  only  fifty  days  of  sunshine  annually!  As 
a  result  of  this  it  is  often  difficult  to  harvest  the  crops, 
and  the  cattle  must  be  stall  fed  nine  months  out  of  the 
year. 

This  much  handicapped  land  has  waged  a  mighty 


RURAL  DEVELOPMENT   DURING   RECENT   YEARS          3 

struggle  against  nature;  and  in  less  than  two  genera- 
tions a  poorly  ordered  agricultural  system  has  been 
changed  to  the  best  on  the  European  continent.  The 
soil  has  been  made  to  yield  abundantly,  and  these  prod- 
ucts are  being  placed  upon  the  world's  markets  by  the 
farmers  themselves,  as  a  result  of  being  trained  especially 
for  this  purpose.  Nothing  can  speak  in  stronger  terms 
for  the  success  of  Danish  agriculture  than  such  figures 
as  the  following,  which  show  the  surprisingly  rapid  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  annual  exports: 

In  1 88 1,  just  before  cooperative  enterprise  among 
the  farmers  had  begun  to  be  felt,  the  net  export  in  the 
three  farm  staples  —  butter,  bacon,  and  eggs  —  was 
valued  at  $12,010,000.  In  1904,  it  had  increased  to 
$68,070,000,  and  only  eight  years  later  had  reached 
the  surprisingly  large  sum  of  $125,000,000.  Such 
figures  as  these  can  be  explained  only  in  a  rapidly  grow- 
ing knowledge  of  agricultural  production  and  a  scientific 
handling  and  marketing  of  the  products  —  all  of  which 
has  come  to  the  people  through  a  system  of  schools 
peculiarly  adapted  to  rural  needs. 

The  total  population  of  Denmark  is  a  little  less  than 
3,000,000.  Of  this  number,  fully  61  per  cent  may  be 
classed  as  rural.  One  hundred  years  ago  practically 
the  whole  of  Denmark  was  devoted  to  agriculture.  In 
1 80 1,  the  rural  districts  numbered  733,000  people,  while 
the  Capital  and  provincial  towns  had  only  102,000  and 


4  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

94, coo  respectively.  Then  gradually  there  came  a 
change.  The  great  industrial  revolution  which  had 
already  seized  upon  England  and  other  European  coun- 
tries began  to  be  felt  in  Denmark  also.  Copenhagen 
and  the  provincial  towns  soon  outgrew  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. Agricultural  life  felt  the  loss  of  its  attractions 
in  proportion  as  the  glamour  of  city  life  increased.  A 
movement  away  from  the  land  was  soon  under  way, 
and  the  little  country  had  its  cityward  exodus  of  country 
population.  This  phenomenon  is  clearly  illustrated  in 
the  following  figures:  between  the  period  1801-1840 
the  Capital  showed  an  annual  increase  of  only  forty- 
eight  persons  per  ten  thousand ;  for  1840-1880  this  had 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  ninety ;  and  for  1880-1890 
it  had  reached  the  large  figure  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five.  The  same  rapid  increase  marked  the  pro- 
vincial towns.  Meanwhile,  the  rural  districts  which  had 
increased  at  the  rate  of  eighty-five  persons  per  ten  thou- 
sand for  the  period  1801-1840  showed  an  increase  of 
only  eighty- two  persons  for  the  period  of  1840-1880; 
and  then  there  came  an  appalling  drop  to  twenty-one 
persons  per  ten  thousand  for  the  decade  1880-1890.  At 
this  point  the  change  set  in.  Between  1800-1901  the 
increase  for  the  Capital  dropped  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty-nine;  between  1901-1906,  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty-two.  Meanwhile,  the  rural  increase  was  changed 
from  twenty-one  in  1880-1890  to  twenty-eight  in 


RURAL  DEVELOPMENT   DURING   RECENT   YEARS         5 

1890-1901,  and  to  the  large  increase  of  ninety-nine  for 
1901-1906. 

From  this  it  is  clear  that  the  cityward  tide  grew  for  a 
time  at  an  appalling  rate.  The  close  of  the  8o's  marked 
the  lowest  ebb  in  rural  growth.  In  the  decade  1880- 
1890,  during  which  cooperative  enterprise  got  its  first 
real  hold  upon  the  farmers,  the  tide  began  to  turn  again, 
and  the  cities  ceased  their  rapid  strides.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  the  rural  population  increased  from 
twenty-eight  per  ten  thousand  to  ninety-nine  persons 
per  ten  thousand  between  1901  and  1906,  a  time  since 
which  there  has  been  a  steady  gain.  At  that  time  just 
60  per  cent  of  all  the  people  lived  in  the  open  country 
and  in  rural-minded  villages.  Since  then,  according  to 
unofficial  figures,  the  rural  population  has  increased  to 
fully  6  r  per  cent. 

The  shift  in  the  population  of  Denmark  is  interesting 
and  significant  when  it  is  compared  with  the  similar 
movement  away  from  the  land  in  great  sections  of  the 
United  States.  In  1790,  according  to  the  Federal  Census, 
only  3.4  per  cent  of  the  people  in  the  United  States  lived 
in  cities.  In  those  days  the  nation  was  provincial.  In 
1900,  33.4  per  cent  lived  in  places  of  four  thousand  and 
upward,  and  by  1914,  just  about  one  half  of  the  whole 
nation  had  become  industrialized  at  the  organized 
centers.  In  the  United  States  we  may  expect  the  great 
industrial  centers  to  continue  to  grow  for  many  years 


6  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

to  come.  This  is  inevitable.  At  the  same  time,  this 
growth  should  not  be  at  the  expense  of  the  country 
districts.  We  should  so  organize  our  agricultural 
affairs  that  American  rural  districts  might  hereafter  re- 
tain a  majority  of  the  rural-minded  people  who  now 
live  upon  the  soil  as  well  as  their  natural  increase 
from  year  to  year.  This  would  mean  the  gradual  or- 
ganization of  a  natural  agricultural  population,  capa- 
ble of  greatly  increased  production.  Then  would  cease 
the  beguiling  call  of  "  back  to  the  land  "  of  those  who 
have  already  moved  away  from  the  land,  and  who 
had  just  as  well  stay  away  because  they  are  not  by 
nature  rural  minded. 

A  Marked  Reclamation  Service.  —  The  fact  that  the 
cityward  tide  has  been  stemmed  in  Denmark  indicates 
that  a  larger  degree  of  prosperity  and  contentment  is 
coming  to  rural  communities.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
old  Denmark  is  being  made  anew  by  the  industry  of 
man.  The  sand  dunes  that  have  been  heaped  up  by  the 
North  Sea  along  the  western  shore  of  Jutland  are  being 
checked  in  their  inland  drift.  Great  windbreaks  of  pine 
and  spruce  are  beginning  to  check  the  force  of  the  north- 
west winds.  Vast  plantations  of  evergreens  and  decidu- 
ous trees  are  reclaiming  the  heather  regions  at  the  heart 
of  Jutland,  where  nothing  save  ling  could  grow  before. 
The  very  waters  from  the  inland  bogs  are  utilized  to 
irrigate  the  dry  upland  heath  and  turn  it  into  productive 


RURAL  DEVELOPMENT  DURING  RECENT  YEARS    7 

meadow.  Everywhere  the  fields  and  meadows  are  kept 
in  a  high  state  of  production  through  careful  tilling  and 
fertilization.  All  barnyard  manures  are  carefully  hus- 
banded and  utilized.  Great  quantities  of  marl  are  dug 
at  great  labor  from  deep  beds  and  sprinkled  over  the 
fields.  Rock  phosphates  from  the  United  States  and 
elsewhere  are  also  used  to  coax  the  soil  to  produce. 
Great  macadamized  turnpikes  have  drawn  the  farmsteads 
close  to  the  markets  and  made  the  large  traffic  in  raw 
materials  from  farm  to  town  possible  and  convenient. 
Free  rural  delivery  and  parcels  post  have  long  since 
become  indispensable.  Rural  telephones  are  common, 
and  in  many  regions  the  farm  homes  and  farm  schools 
are  lighted  with  electricity  generated  by  wind  power. 

Remarkable  Growth  of  Cooperative  Enterprise.  — 
To  produce  much  from  the  soil  is  but  one  side  of  agricul- 
ture ;  to  be  able  to  take  these  products  and  place  them 
upon  the  world  markets  to  the  best  advantage  is  quite 
another  matter.  But  the  Danish  farmer  has  solved 
both  the  production  and  the  distribution  sides  of  his  ag- 
riculture. In  the  first  place,  as  will  be  shown  later,  the 
schools,  and  especially  the  folk  high  schools,  teach  a 
mutual  trust  and  confidence  which  have  made  possible 
this  remarkable  development  in  cooperative  enterprise. 
And  no  one  thing  has  played  a  greater  part  in  the  agri- 
cultural prosperity  than  the  spirit  of  cooperation  which 
prevails  on  every  side. 


8  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

More  than  one  thousand  and  four  hundred  cooperative 
stores  with  several  hundred  thousand  members  sell  more 
than  $20,000,000  worth  of  goods  annually.  In  addition, 
many  scores  of  societies  are  formed  for  the  joint  purchas- 
ing of  feeding  stuffs,  fertilizers,  and  such  materials,  and 
tools.  The  selling  associations  are  organized  on  plans, 
in  many  respects,  like  those  that  govern  the  English 
Rochdale  system  of  stores. 

The  cooperative  dairies  and  cheese  factories  were  the 
first  to  give  Danish  farm  industries  a  name  abroad.  The 
first  cooperative  dairy  was  started  as  late  as  1882.  At 
the  beginning  of  1913,  no  less  than  eleven  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  such  cooperative  plants  were  busily  at 
work.  To  those  may  be  added  three  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  private  dairies,  which  makes  the  total  num- 
ber fifteen  hundred  and  sixteen.  About  2,700,000,000 
kilograms  of  milk,  making  fully  96,500,000  kilograms  of 
butter,  are  handled  in  the  cooperative  plants.  One  dairy 
alone  —  "  Trifolium  "  at  Haslev,  Zealand  —  receives  the 
milk  from  12,000  cows,  treating  at  least  28,500,000  kilo- 
grams of  milk.  Forty  thousand  cheeses  of  fifty  varieties 
are  usually  stored  in  the  curing  cellars  of  the  dairy,  which, 
if  put  end  to  end,  would  cover  fully  thirteen  miles. 

The  small  kingdom  boasts  sixty-four  well-established 
bacon  factories  of  which  forty-two  are  cooperative  and 
managed  by  the  farmers  themselves.  Practically  every 
farmer  belongs  to  one  or  another  of  these  enterprises. 


RURAL   DEVELOPMENT   DURING   RECENT   YEARS         9 

It  matters  not  whether  he  is  a  small  holder  and  produces 
only  half  a  dozen  pigs  a  year,  or  is  a  big  estate  owner  with 
his  three  or  four  hundred.  Last  year  about  2,000,000 
pigs  were  slaughtered  in  the  cooperative  bacon  factories, 
representing  a  value  of  fully  $31,000,000.  This  does 
not  take  into  consideration  the  slaughtering  of  beef 
cattle,  which  is  quite  a  side  industry.  Every  pig  killed 
for  export  is  carefully  inspected  by  government  veter- 
inarians and  must  be  absolutely  free  from  every  trace 
of  disease,  or  it  cannot  receive  the  red  government  export 
stamp.  This  bacon  is  sold  on  the  English  markets  in 
successful  competition  with  the  products  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  All  this  work  of  preparing  the  pork  prod- 
ucts for  the  markets,  from  raising  the  pig  to  selling  it 
in  London,  is  done  by  farmers  trained  in  special  courses 
in  the  rural  schools. 

Even  the  exportation  of  eggs  has  been  organized  as  a 
powerful  cooperative  enterprise.  This  began  in  1895  and 
is  now  carried  on  from  five  hundred  gathering  centers. 
Danish  eggs  control  remarkably  high  prices  abroad 
because  they  are  scientifically  handled  and  sold  under 
absolute  guarantee  of  being  fresh.  This  is  made  possi- 
ble by  the  branding  system  in  vogue,  and  the  severe 
regulations  under  which  the  eggs  are  gathered,  candled, 
and  packed. 

Control  Unions  and  Government  Breeding  Centers.  — 
Agricultural  effort  is  systematized  and  kept  at  a  high 


IO  RURAL  DENMARK   AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 

point  of  perfection  by  an  army  of  control  union  assistants 
or  local  agricultural  experts,  trained  in  special  courses 
at  the  rural  agricultural  schools.  These  men  test  the 
milk  for  butter  fat,  instruct  in  feeding,  make  soil  analyses, 
and  give  advice  on  how  to  fertilize;  they  instruct  in 
farm  accounting,  test  cattle  for  tuberculosis,  and  in  other 
ways  lend  a  direct  assistance  to  farming.  Five  hundred 
and  twenty-four  such  unions  are  organized  at  the  present 
time.  The  importance  of  this  work  may  be  seen  in  the 
fact  that  during  the  year  1911,  the  total  number  of  milk 
cows  belonging  within  the  unions  gave  on  the  average 
six  hundred  pounds  of  milk,  or  twenty-three  pounds  of 
butter,  more  each  than  did  the  cows  not  so  owned.  To 
systematize,  to  perfect,  and  to  remove  all  waste  is  the 
endeavor  of  the  control  unions.  It  is  a  happy  indication 
of  an  improved  agriculture  to  know  that  in  the  United 
States,  too,  agricultural  advisers  are  being  appointed  in 
many  progressive  communities. 

The  Danish  national  government  takes  an  active  part 
in  agricultural  progress  by  training  large  corps  of  addi- 
tional experts  who  do  their  work  at  the  many  experiment 
stations  of  the  country  or  out  among  the  farmers.  Of 
great  importance  are  the  efforts  of  the  government  in 
operating,  or  at  least  giving  state  aid  for,  the  main- 
tenance of  breeding  centers  for  choice  stock.  Thus 
great  work  is  being  done  for  the  perfection  of  the  two 
types  of  Danish  native  horses :  the  heavy  Jutish  sorrels 


ORDINARY  SPECIMEN  OF  RED  FYEN  Cow. 


GOOD  TYPE  OF  JUTISH  SORREL  MARE. 


RURAL   DEVELOPMENT   DURING  RECENT   YEARS       II 

and  the  lighter  Fredriksborg  bays;  likewise,  the  fine 
black  and  white  Jutish  cows  and  the  smaller  red  Fiinen 
cows  are  receiving  much  attention,  as  are  also  the  large, 
white  Danish  "  land  swine  "  —  the  perfection  bacon 
hogs.  Nineteen  hundred  and  eleven  stock  breeding 
societies  have  been  organized  between  1890  and  1913. 
Their  value  to  agricultural  progress  can  scarcely  be 
overestimated. 

Parceling  Out  the  Large  Estates.  —  The  day  of  land- 
lordism —  absentee  or  otherwise  —  is  a  thing  of  the  past 
in  Denmark.  Since  the  farmers  have  learned  to  direct 
their  own  government  they  have  passed  laws  which 
forbid  the  joining  of  several  farms  already  established. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  partition  of  larger  farms  or 
estates  into  small  parcels  is  encouraged  by  legislative 
enactment.  The  government  encourages  industrious 
farm  laborers  to  become  landowners,  by  making  direct 
long-time  loans  for  this  purpose  at  3 \  or  3  per  cent. 
Local  credit  unions  of  farmers  are  also  organized  to  assist 
members  of  the  unions  to  borrow  money  to  invest  in  land 
or  farm  improvements,  which  money  can  generally  be 
procured  at  4  per  cent  on  the  several  credit  of  the  organ- 
ization. This  solution  of  rural  credits  makes  it  possible 
for  men  of  small  means  to  become  independent,  an 
opportunity  which  would  be  an  impossibility  under  other 
conditions.  Only  one  fifteenth  of  the  Danish  farmers 
are  now  tenants  or  leaseholders,  which  is  quite  a  re- 


12  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

markable  condition.  At  this  time  116,614  farms  con- 
tain seven  and  one  fifth  acres  or  less ;  28,992  farms  con- 
tain from  eleven  and  one  fourth  to  twenty-two  and  one 
half  acres ;  35,257,  from  thirty- three  and  three  fourths  to 
sixty-seven  and  one  half  acres;  6502,  from  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  to  two  hundred  and  seventy  acres ;  and 
22  con  tarn  five  hundred  and  forty  acres  and  over.  The 
latter  are  the  old  entailed  estates  which  have  not  yet 
been  reached  by  the  new  land  laws.  It  should  be  added, 
however,  that  during  the  last  few  years  several  of  the 
large  estates  have  been  voluntarily  parceled  out  into 
small  holdings.  In  this  way  intensive  small  farming  is 
ever  on  the  increase. 

Rural  Social  Life.  —  Two  things  at  least  are  necessary 
if  one  would  hold  a  strong  farm  population  on  the  soil : 
one  is  returns  from  the  soil  commensurate  with  the  labor 
and  money  invested;  the  other  pertains  to  the  social 
existence  in  rural  communities.  Without  the  former, 
no  one  can  be  contented  to  remain  there.  Denmark 
has  solved  this  side  of  the  problem.  As  for  the  latter, 
even  if  agriculture  is  made  reasonably  profitable  as  a 
calling,  such  alone  will  not  be  sufficient  inducement  to 
hold  a  large  productive  population  on  the  farms.  Daily 
life  there  must  be  kept  both  humanly  interesting  and 
attractive.  If  the  open  country  cannot  offer  at  least 
simple  social  attractions,  people  will  go  where  they  can 
get  them. 


RURAL  DEVELOPMENT   DURING   RECENT   YEARS       13 

In  these  respects,  too,  Denmark  has  been  fortunate. 
There  is  really  no  longer  any  danger  of  a  movement 
away  from  the  land.  Many  of  the  social  problems  con- 
fronting us  in  American  rural  communities  have  been 
cleared  away.  First  of  all,  the  great  working  factors  in 
country  life  —  the  school  and  church  —  have  been  able 
to  hold  their  own  against  urban  influence.  Strong 
churches  and  well-organized  schools  in  charge  of  devoted 
and  well-trained  men  who  are  giving  their  lives  to  the 
work  hi  the  open  country,  live  there  as  permanent  cita- 
dels against  any  outside  aggression.  Much  of  the  social 
life  in  the  community  is  inspired  by  these  institutions. 
Pastors  and  teachers  have  their  share  in  the  remarkably 
effective  extension  work  emanating  from  the  folk  high 
schools  and  local  agricultural  schools.  Because  the 
social  and  recreative  life  is  in  the  main  directed  from 
these  sources,  it  is  generally  wholesome.  Each  country 
parish  has  its  own  assembly  hall  and  gymnasium.  The 
former  is  used  for  extension-course  lectures,  by  the  local 
singing  union,  and  for  matters  of  a  similar  nature.  The 
latter  holds  high  place  hi  Danish  rural  life.  The  gym- 
nasium, in  fact,  is  the  center  of  the  athletic  and  play 
activities  of  the  community.  Gymnastics  is  compulsory 
in  all  the  rural  schools,  and  is  continued  at  home  after 
the  close  of  school  life.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  see 
graybeards  among  the  drilling  youngsters,  turning  hand- 
springs and  vaulting  the  horse  with  the  best  of  them. 


14  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

Such  activities  keep  the  farm  hearts  eternally  young! 
Another  unique  organization  of  the  farmers  is  the  so- 
called  skytteforeninger  or  sharpshooters'  associations. 
These  were  founded  years  ago  as  patriotic  volunteer 
organizations,  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  for  the 
eventualities  of  war.  With  the  passage  of  time  these 
clubs  also  have  become  centers  for  much  of  the  commu- 
nity's social  life. 

Last  of  mention,  the  schools  are  training  young  men 
and  women  for  a  varied  rural  artisanship.  The  small- 
holders' schools,  especially,  are  doing  a  good  work  here. 
Carpenters  and  masons  who  take  special  interest  in 
rural  architecture,  weavers,  cobblers,  and  others  who  live 
and  do  their  work  in  the  country  or  rural  hamlets,  —  all 
add  their  fraction  to  rural  life  betterment.  It  is  well  to 
remember  that  in  the  United  States  we  had  at  one  time 
a  twofold  social  life  in  rural  districts.  There  were  the 
soil  tillers,  pure  and  simple,  and  the  group  of  artisans 
down  at  the  crossroads  —  the  blacksmith,  wheelwright, 
cabinetmaker,  cobbler,  weaver,  and  so  on  —  who  repre- 
sented an  important  part  of  our  early  social  life.  These 
have  long  ago  disappeared,  being  forced  to  the 
cities  because  of  inability  to  compete  with  the  ma- 
chine-made wares  there.  Whether  our  schools  or 
other  forces  shall  be  able  to  reconstruct  such  an  artisan- 
ship,  or  whether  this  is  at  all  desirable,  is  quite  another 
question. 


RURAL   DEVELOPMENT   DURING  RECENT   YEARS       15 

A  Correct  Outlook  on  Life.  —  Danish  farmers  have 
learned  to  take  the  right  outlook  on  life.  They  have 
learned  in  a  generation  that  agricultural  life  need  not  be 
complementary  of  city  life ;  but  that  it  can  be  complete 
in  itself.  Such  farmers  are  no  longer  subject  to  news- 
paper cartooning  or  witty  lampooning.  They  have 
found  their  strength  and  are  exerting  it  in  a  wholesome 
way  for  national  improvement.  With  the  conquest  of 
the  soil  came  new,  hitherto  unknown,  powers.  The 
schools  pointed  the  way.  In  order  best  to  handle  the 
products  of  the  soil,  good  laws  were  necessary.  This 
led  the  way  to  politics.  The  radical  or  left  party,  which 
is  composed  mainly  of  small  and  middle- class  farmers,  is 
now  in  full  control  of  the  government  and  the  Rigsdag. 
Practically  the  entire  cabinet,  from  the  prime  minister 
down,  are  men  from  rural  communities.  And  most  of 
the  progressive  agricultural  and  social  legislation  enacted 
in  recent  years  can  be  traced  to  the  radical  party.  In 
order  fully  to  make  clear  the  remarkable  changes  that 
have  been  wrought  in  recent  years,  the  beginnings  of  the 
agricultural  evolution  must  be  told  at  this  point. 

The  Changes  of  a  Century.  —  The  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  found  Danish  agriculture  in  a  deplorable 
condition.  The  bulk  of  tillable  lands  had,  down  through 
the  times,  become  centered  in  an  arrogant,  landholding 
nobility  or  in  the  Crown.  Not  many  of  the  one-time 
powerful  free  landed  peasantry  had  been  strong  enough 


1 6  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

to  survive  the  changeable  times  of  the  Middle  Ages  as 
independent  landowners.  A  majority  of  them  had  been 
forced  into  a  condition  of  serfdom,  under  which  they 
must  remain  on  the  estate  where  they  were  born  from  the 
age  of  four  to  thirty-five.  After  this  period  of  bondage 
had  expired  they  were  obliged,  under  law,  to  rent  land 
lots  from  their  recent  overlords  on  conditions  most 
intolerable.  Among  other  burdens,  they  were  subject  to 
Hoveri,  or  working  a  specific  number  of  days  weekly  at 
the  head  estate.  In  addition,  they  were  ground  down 
by  heavy  tithings.  And  personal  initiative  was  curbed 
by  the  system,  then  hi  vogue,  of  working  the  soil  in  com- 
mon. The  soil  was  poorly  managed,  and  science  in 
agriculture  unknown.  Even  the  national  government 
seemed  deliberately  to  discriminate  against  the  struggling 
peasants  through  unfair  legislation  —  especially  hi  the 
form  of  exorbitant  export  duties.  To  fill  the  cup  of 
the  peasants'  despair,  a  virulent  cattle  plague  swept  the 
country  and  closed  the  markets  of  Hamburg  against  live 
cattle,  their  one  chief  export. 

In  the  middle  of  one  of  Copenhagen's  most  prominent 
thoroughfares  stands  a  rather  plain  obelisk  called  Friheds 
Stbtte  or  liberty  monument.  It  was  erected  to  com- 
memorate the  freeing  of  the  serfs  in  1788.  On  the  one 
side  it  bears  the  inscription :  "  The  King  Saw  that  Civic 
Freedom  Fixed  in  Righteous  Law  Gives  Love  of  Country, 
Courage  for  Its  Defense,  Desire  for  Knowledge,  Longing 


RURAL   DEVELOPMENT   DURING  RECENT   YEARS        17 

for  Industry,  Hope  of  Prosperity  " ;  and  on  the  other, 
"  The  King  Bade  that  Serfdom  Should  Cease ;  that  to 
the  Landlaws  Should  Be  Given  Order  and  Might,  that 
the  Free  Peasant  May  Become  Brave  and  Enlightened, 
Industrious  and  Good,  an  Honorable  Citizen,  in  Hap- 
piness." These  words  of  wisdom  and  prophecy  have 
been  fully  justified  by  a  century  of  attainment  on  the 
part  of  the  freedmen. 

The  first  reforms  had  already  come  in  1781,  when 
communism  in  landholding  was  abandoned.  Three 
years  later  the  great  Crown  estates  were  parceled  out ; 
then,  in  1788,  serfdom  came  to  an  end.  Export  duties 
were  lifted  on  corn  and  cattle,  and  the  government 
established  a  credit  fund  to  help  the  new  smallholders 
get  on  their  feet.  This  period  of  reform  wrought  wonders 
in  the  life  of  the  people.  Much  progress  was  made  in 
agriculture.  The  public  schools  were  improved  and 
intelligence  grew  apace.  Then  came  the  Napoleonic 
wars,  carrying  with  them  widespread  national  ruin. 
The  war  left  Denmark  politically  crushed.  Its  fleets 
were  gone  and  with  them  its  power  at  sea  ;  Norway  was 
lost  for  good,  leaving  a  shrunken  geographical  area  and 
a  discouraged  people.  As  soon  as  the  embargoes  on 
foodstuffs  were  lifted,  grain  prices  fell  below  the  cost  of 
production.  The  period  1823  to  1825  saw  a  great  crisis 
in  the  agricultural  life  of  the  nation.  More  than  one 
third  of  all  the  big  estates  went  under  the  hammer  and 


l8  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

changed  hands.  Once  more  patriotic  leaders  came  to  the 
rescue  and  brought  about  additional  reforms  which  gave 
gradual  relief. 

The  second  great  national  shock  came  with  the  dis- 
astrous German  war  of  1864.  A  struggle,  long  drawn 
and  embittered  by  national  differences,  had  culminated 
in  1848  in  a  desperate  war  between  Denmark  and  the 
rebellious  duchies  of  Slesvig  and  Holsten.  For  the  time 
being,  Denmark  came  out  victorious.  But  the  fires  of 
bitterness  fed  by  race  differences  were  kept  alive.  In 
North  Slesvig,  where  an  overwhelming  number  of  the 
people  were  Danish-speaking,  the  officials  were  German 
sympathizers  and  did  all  they  could  to  stir  contention 
and  strife.  At  this  critical  time  the  first  folk  high  school 
in  history  —  a  kind  of  school  which,  as  will  be  shown 
later,  has  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  rehabilitation  of  rural  Denmark  —  was  established  at 
Rodding  (1844),  just  a  few  miles  south  of  the  present 
boundary  between  Germany  and  Denmark.  Thus  we 
see  the  first  of  these  schools  took  root  in  patriotic  seed- 
ground.  Around  it  was  waged  a  bitter  struggle  for 
national  existence ;  and  when  Slesvig  became  foreign 
soil  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  school  was  moved 
bodily  from  Rodding  to  Vejen  on  the  Danish  side  of  the 
border,  where  under  the  name  of  A skov  Folkehojskole 
it  became  the  alma  mater  of  the  folk  high  schools  of  the 
land. 


MINDt  OH 
A-NDJCLSSACEKSTROOLSTL  VtU 


RtlJT  AEDANSKC  AHPCL^fORCNINGER 


SVEND    HOGSBRO,    THE    FATHER    OF    DANISH    COOPERATIVE    ENTERPRISE. 

Monument  erected  to  his  memory  by  Danish  cooperative  associations. 


RURAL   DEVELOPMENT   DURING  RECENT   YEARS        IQ 

But  when  all  seemed  lost  and  the  nation  was  sinking 
in  a  lethargy  of  despair,  new  voices  were  heard  in  the 
land.  A  new  philosophy  was  being  promulgated;  it 
taught  that  education  must  become  universal,  practical, 
and  democratic,  and  that  hereafter  Denmark's  defense 
must  be  built  on  the  foundation  of  broad  intelligence 
rooted  in  the  love  of  God  and  home  and  native  land. 
The  father  of  the  new  philosophy  was  Bishop  Nikolai 
Frederik  Severin  Grundtvig.  Aided  by  Kristen  Kold 
and  others,  he  laid  the  foundation  to  the  folk  high  schools, 
mentioned  above.  The  elementary  schools,  too,  felt 
the  new  influence  and  strove  to  answer  the  needs  of  the 
new  times.  The  people  were  eager  to  listen  and  to  act. 
The  new  spirit  expressed  itself  in  more  ways  than  in 
schools.  E.  M.  Dalgas  and  his  co-workers  began  the 
gigantic  task  of  reforesting  the  heather  lands  of  Jutland 
and  of  draining  the  bogs  and  irrigating  the  upland  heaths. 
In  a  lifetime  almost  as  much  tillable  land  has  been  re- 
claimed as  was  lost  to  the  enemy.  C.  F.  Tietgen  became 
the  chief  spirit  in  a  movement  to  reorganize  commerce 
and  manufactures;  and  Svend  Hogsbro,  more  recently, 
and  others  with  him,  have  drawn  the  farmers  into  a 
remarkable  system  of  cooperative  buying,  producing,  and 
selling  associations,  which  are  now  the  envy  and  marvel 
of  the  world.  A  new  era  of  national  prosperity  came 
into  being  in  which  a  scientific  agriculture  is  the  most 
important  economic  factor.  Indeed,  fully  88  per  cent 


20  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS    SCHOOLS 

of  the  country's  export  trade  falls  under  the  head  of 
"  agricultural  produce,"  while  manufactures,  other  than 
farm  products,  represents  only  8  per  cent,  and  fishing 
4  per  cent. 


CHAPTER  H 

THE  STRUGGLE  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  LAND 

A  Conservation  that  is  remaking  the  Nation.  —  The 
previous  chapter  gave,  in  general  terms,  the  history  of 
the  Danish  agricultural  transformation,  and  hinted  at 
the  part  played  in  this  great  work  by  the  unique  school 
system  of  the  land.  In  the  following  pages  it  is  the 
purpose  to  give  some  of  the  details  of  the  splendid  enter- 
prise and  stubborn  perseverance  that  is  gradually 
reclaiming  for  civilization  hundreds  of  square  miles  of 
land  that  had  for  ages  been  considered  irretrievably 
lost. 

When  Slesvig  and  Holsten  passed  from  the  nation,  in 
1864,  it  became  clear  to  all  who  loved  the  dismembered 
fatherland  that  now  every  foot  of  untilled  land  must  be 
reclaimed  and  put  under  the  plow.  What  had  been  lost 
could  be  regained  by  making  heath  and  moor  and  sandy 
dune  bear  their  share  in  sheltering  and  feeding  the 
nation.  And  all  this  has  come  to  pass.  For  half  a  cen- 
tury the  work  has  gone  forward,  carefully  and  effec- 
tively, without  any  blare  of  publicity.  Private  phi- 
lanthropy has  vied  with  public  liberality  in  being  the 
first  afield  and  doing  the  most.  Some  of  the  choicest 


22  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

spirits  of  the  land  have  given  their  time  and  substance 
in  the  great  cause.  In  places  where  the  heather  held 
sway  only  two  score  years  ago  proud  monuments  are 
now  being  reared  to  these  heroes  in  the  midst  of  splendid 
green  forest  and  fertile  meadow  —  and  who  would 
exchange  such  a  memorial  with  that  of  the  greatest  war 
hero  of  all  time !  These  men  have  done  their  work  well 
—  they  have  remade  the  soil  and  have  at  the  same  time 
taught  their  fellows  that  the  land  is  holy  and  must  be 
treated  as  such !  The  truth  has  gradually  taken  root 
that  the  fundamental  wealth  of  the  nation  must  come 
from  the  soil,  and  that  to  conserve  this  wealth  and  add 
to  it,  is  the  sacred  duty  and  privilege  of  every  free-born 
man  and  woman ! 

The  Jutish  Heath  in  Olden  Time.  —  Before  the  work 
of  reclamation  began  Jutland  was  a  land  of  barren 
heath,  of  moor  and  bog,  of  great  stretches  of  sand,  with 
here  and  there  an  oasis  of  fertile  soil,  especially  where  the 
fjords  penetrate  to  the  heart  of  the  land.  The  east 
third  of  the  peninsula  only  had  a  better  soil  and  was 
reasonably  well  protected  from  the  bleak  winds  sweeping 
the  heath. 

But  Jutland  was  not  always  bleak  and  sere  and  poor. 
Two  or  three  thousand  years  ago  it  was  populated  by 
a  numerous  folk  belonging  to  the  Stone  Age  and,  later, 
to  the  Bronze  Age.  Their  burial  mounds  and  works  of 
war  and  peace  lie  in  continuous  chains  from  coast  to 


STRUGGLE  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LAND     23 

coast.  At  that  time  the  heath  was  covered  with  great 
forests  of  fir  and  oak,  where  the  prehistoric  people 
hunted,  and  under  their  shelter  tilled  the  soil  and  raised 
herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  This  early  race  has  passed 
away,  but  mounds  of  stone  and  earth  stand  to  tell  the 
story.  Later  civilization  followed  the  path  broken  by 
the  Stone  Age  men.  When  Christianity  came,  churches 
sprang  up  in  the  heart  of  Jutland,  close  by  the  ancient 
tumuli.  But  Jutland  was  the  battle  ground  of  the  cen- 
turies. Here  German  and  Dane  met  in  bloody  combat, 
and  here,  for  ages,  feuds  and  civil  wars  of  Danish  chiefs 
were  fought.  When  the  distress  was  at  its  greatest  and 
the  people  least  able  to  make  successful  resistance,  the 
Black  Death  invaded  Denmark.  The  pestilence  at  one 
fell  stroke  changed  the  whole  of  central  Jutland.  Towns 
were  emptied  of  human  inhabitants  and  the  fields  went 
uncultivated.  The  heather  sprang  up  and  choked  out 
the  work  of  human  hands.  Where  there  were  populous 
towns  at  one  time,  dim  outlines  only  of  foundation  walls 
may  now  occasionally  be  found  deeply  hidden  under  the 
heather. 

The  work  of  destruction  begun  by  the  Black  Death  was 
later  completed  by  man  and  the  elements.  The  ax  and 
the  keen  west  winds  aided  one  another  in  completing  the 
devastation.  Thoughtless  man,  eager  for  gain,  hewed 
down  the  forest  and  neglected  to  replant  it.  The  winds 
swept  triumphantly  across  the  land ;  the  heather  closed 


24  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

in  upon  the  roots  of  the  remaining  trees  and  killed  them. 
Then  the  last  of  the  grass  and  corn  plants  had  to  retreat 
and  the  curse  of  barrenness  was  upon  the  heath.  Indeed, 
thereafter,  for  centuries  no  man  would  cross  its  far- 
stretching  desolation  who  could  escape  it.  The  land  had 
become  the  abiding  place  only  for  outlaw  and  wild  beast. 

First  Attempts  at  Reclaiming  the  Soil.  —  During  the 
eighteenth  century  the  friends  of  conservation  made 
several  attacks  on  the  heath,  but  it  proved  too  strong 
for  their  crude  methods.  The  most  interesting  as  well 
as  most  expensive  of  these  experiments  was  the  calling 
in  of  one  thousand  German  colonists,  in  1759.  These 
people  were  taxed  with  the  stupendous  task  of  putting 
the  land  under  cultivation  again,  by  marling  and  planting, 
draining  and  irrigating.  Everything  was  furnished 
them  by  the  government ;  colony  towns  were  built,  and 
churches  with  German  pastors  were  opened.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain.  The  climate  was  inhospitable  and  the 
soil  unyielding.  By  degrees  the  disheartened  colonists 
drifted  back  to  Germany  or  to  more  friendly  regions  in 
Denmark.  In  1790  the  Government  began  systematic 
experiments  in  tree  planting,  but  little  came  of  the 
work  because  no  one  yet  understood  how  to  treat  the 
soil  and  just  what  trees  to  plant.  The  Government 
used  the  common  Danish  firs,  but  these  could  not  thrive 
under  the  present  hard  conditions. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Steen 


STRUGGLE    IN  THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   LAND          25 

Steensen  Blicher,  the  Danish  heather  poet,  roamed  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  ling  with  dog  and  gun.  In 
those  days  he  could  go  for  miles  without  seeing  a  human 
being,  and  would  be  alone  with  the  skylarks  and  his 
dreams  of  how  Denmark  should  once  again  populate  the 
dreary  wastes.  When  he  died  in  1848,  the  saga  of  the 
heath  was  almost  complete.  A  new  generation  of  men, 
— and  chief  among  them  Col.  E.  M.  Dalgas, — well  versed 
in  all  that  recent  science  had  to  offer,  began  a  well- 
planned  attack  against  which  the  heath  could  not  make 
successful  resistance. 

Dalgas  and  the  Danish  Heather  Society.  —  In  March 
of  1866,  Col.  E.  M.  Dalgas  and  a  small  group  of  other 
national-spirited  men,  among  whom  might  be  mentioned 
Mourier  Petersen,  Drewsen,  and  Morville,  met  and 
organized  the  Danish  Heather  Society  (Det  Danske 
Hedeselskab),  which  had  as  its  sole  purpose  to  redeem  for 
the  fatherland,  through  works  of  peace  upon  the  land, 
the  humiliating  losses  of  the  recent  war.  Thoughts  of 
personal  gain  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  stu- 
pendous undertaking  —  and  that  is  the  right  term  to 
use,  for  these  men  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  con- 
quest of  a  land  area  that,  if  successful,  would  add  fully 
one  fifth  to  the  tillable  area  of  the  nation ! 

At  the  time  of  writing  the  society  has  a  membership 
of  sixty-five  hundred  and  draws  from  State  subsidies  and 
private  sources  aid  to  the  amount  of  450,000  kroner 


26  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

annually.  The  work  is  very  comprehensive  and  is  di- 
rected in  many  channels.  A  certain  section  of  the  soci- 
ety devotes  all  its  energies  to  reforestation ;  a  second  sec- 
tion concerns  itself  with  making  the  heath  arable  through 
the  application  of  marl,  lime,  fertilizers,  and  proper  cul- 
tivation ;  a  third  drains  the  bogs  and  curbs  the  overflow 
of  the  rivers  and  develops  the  peat  industry;  and  a 
fourth  looks  after  irrigation  and  the  height  of  the  surface 
water.  The  association  holds  about  seven  thousand 
hectares  of  plantation  in  its  own  name  and  supervises  the 
development  of  73,000  hectares  of  privately  owned  land. 
A  number  of  important  experiment  stations  are  main- 
tained where  the  public  may  seek  assistance  on  any 
phase  of  reclamation  work  desired. 

When  the  society  was  organized  in  the  6o's,  Jutland 
alone  had  two  thousand  and  sixty-five  square  miles  of 
barren  upland  heath,  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  square 
miles  of  bog,  and  two  hundred  miles  of  sand  dunes.  In 
1896,  this  area  had  already  been  reduced  to  twelve 
hundred  and  seventy-five  square  miles  of  heath,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  square  miles  of  bog,  and  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  square  miles  of  sand  dunes.  This  means 
that  in  thirty  years  almost  one  half  of  the  entire  area 
had  been  reclaimed  —  a  remarkable  showing,  indeed. 
Since  then  even  more  rapid  progress  has  been  made. 
When  Dalgas  died  a  few  years  ago,  twenty-five  hundred 
square  miles  of  land  in  Jutland  and  the  islands  hitherto 


REFORESTING  THE  HEATHER. 

A  twenty-eight-year-old  heather  plantation  at  Birkebaek,  Jutland.  The  nurse 
growth  of  mountain  fir  has  been  cut  away  to  give  the  red  spruce  a  better 
chance  for  life. 


STRUGGLE   IN  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   LAND          27 

dominated  by  "  the  evil  principle  "  had  been  reclaimed 
and  converted  into  forest,  field,  and  meadow,  and  new 
industries  established  in  naval  stores,  wood  gas,  and 
lumber  —  results  which  challenge  the  world. 

Reforesting  the  Heath.  —  It  is  of  especial  interest  to 
Americans  to  know  just  how  the  Danes  got  their  forests 
to  grow.  Our  own  Government,  it  may  be  recalled, 
recently  threw  open  to  settlement  large  tracts  of  land  in 
the  State  of  Nebraska,  which  had  for  some  years  be- 
longed to  the  National  Forest  Reserve.  The  ostensible 
reason  for  doing  this  was  that  evergreens  could  not  be 
made  to  grow  on  these  sandy  hills.  The  experiment  at 
reclamation  was  given  up  as  a  failure  because  results 
were  slow  to  come.  If  the  Danes  had  been  no  more  per- 
severing than  we  have  been  in  this  experiment,  the  west 
winds  might  have  been  allowed  to  blow  forever  un- 
hindered across  the  heath. 

Red  spruce  is  the  desideratum  of  all  the  Danish  tree 
planting.  But  it  cannot  be  coaxed  to  grow  in  the  raw 
heath  —  alone.  It  must  have  a  nurse  tree.  Hard 
experience  has  taught  this.  Mountain  firs  are  the  har- 
diest of  all  evergreens.  They  will  grow  in  the  sand  and 
in  the  sour  turf.  The  procedure  is  briefly  this :  the  heath 
turf  is  broken,  and  then  plowed  a  second  time.  This 
gives  it  a  chance  to  air  out,  and  nitrogen  becomes  avail- 
able. Then  the  whole  is  thoroughly  subsoiled  with  a 
Hanoverian  subsoiler.  It  is  quite  desirable  to  marl 


28  RURAL  DENMARK  AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 

the  surface  in  order  to  neutralize  the  acidity  of  the  soil. 
In  many  places,  indeed,  this  is  essential  to  success.  The 
whole  is  now  ready  for  the  planting  to  begin.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  customary  to  plant  the  whole  in  red 
spruce ;  but  after  a  few  years  they  would  become  stunted 
in  their  growth,  making  no  perceptible  headway.  The 
red  spruce,  for  some  cause,  did  not  have  the  power  to 
gather  from  the  atmosphere  and  heather  soil  the  neces- 
sary amount  of  nitrogen  to  make  them  thrive.  They 
were,  accordingly,  planted  in  a  mixture  with  French 
mountain  firs  which  were  known  to  have  a  remarkable 
nitrogen-fixing  capacity.  The  experiment  proved  success- 
ful so  far  as  infusing  new  life  into  the  red  spruce  is  con- 
cerned. The  starved  plantations  turned  green  and  flour- 
ished. An  examination  of  the  root  structure  disclosed 
the  fact  that  large  masses  of  bacterial  nodules  similar  to 
those  on  the  mountain  firs  were  forming  at  the  roots  of 
the  red  spruce,  which  had  none  such  while  growing 
alone.  But  the  mountain  firs  were  fast  outgrow- 
ing the  red  spruce  and  threatened  to  smother  them. 
Then  the  query  rose,  Would  the  spruce  now  continue  to 
grow  if  the  firs  were  cut  away  ?  After  due  experimenta- 
tion this  proved  to  be  the  fact.  The  red  spruce  could 
get  along  without  its  nurse  tree  once  the  start  had  been 
made.  It  is  now  customary  to  cut  down  the  firs  as 
soon  as  they  begin  to  crowd  the  spruce  noticeably.  But 
they  are  not  permitted  to  go  to  waste,  as  they  are  ad- 


STRUGGLE   IN   THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   LAND          29 

mirable  for  naval  stores,  wood  gas,  charcoal,  mine 
props,  and  posts. 

In  1862,  the  total  forest  area  of  Jutland  was  two  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  and  four  tenths  square  miles.  At  the 
present  time  it  comprises  seven  hundred  and  two  square 
miles.  This  takes  into  consideration  compact  areas  of 
plantation  chiefly.  Then  there  are  windbreaks  and 
hedges  of  mountain  fir  and  hardy  white  and  Sitka  spruce, 
which  form  a  continuous  checkerboard  on  the  surface  of 
the  heath.  A  few  years  more  and  the  open  heather  will 
have  passed  for  good.  An  interesting  fact  is  this,  that 
an  association  of  Danish- Americans  recently  collected, 
in  the  United  States,  a  fund  which  was  used  to  purchase 
a  tract  of  the  old  Jutish  Heath  to  be  set  aside  and  pre- 
served for  coming  generations.  This  bit  of  sentiment 
shows  that  the  Danes  themselves  feel  that  the  end  of 
the  struggle  is  almost  at  hand. 

Reclamation  by  regulating  Height  of  Surface  Water. 
—  It  was  stated  in  the  last  chapter  that  all  Denmark 
rises  only  a  few  feet  above  the  ocean  level.  As  a  natural 
consequence  of  this,  its  rivers  are  sluggish  and  tortuous 
in  their  windings,  and  the  peninsula  and  islands  have 
many  lakes,  marshes,  and  fens.  To  straighten  the  rivers 
and,  by  science,  regulate  the  height  of  their  water  so 
as  to  reclaim  for  cultivation  bordering  lowlands  and 
marshes  has  been  another  of  the  interesting  works  of 
the  Danish  Heather  Society,  which  has  extended  its 


30 

work  in  recent  years  to  embrace  the  islands  as  well  as 
the  peninsula. 

Annually  recurring  high  water  has  been  the  cause  of 
much  loss  to  crops  along  the  river  courses.  To  remedy 
this  condition,  the  Heather  Society  has  undertaken  and 
carried  to  successful  execution  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  twelve  such  projects  to  regulate  the  height  of  the 
surface  water,  thereby  reclaiming  immediately  54,460 
acres  of  excellent  bottom  land.  This  is  usually  done  by 
straightening  the  river  bed  to  increase  its  fall  and  by 
deepening  the  channel  to  lower  the  height  of  the  water, 
which  is  kept  normally  as  near  as  possible  three  to  five 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  adjacent  land.  The  great 
value  of  this  water  to  the  process  of  surface  evaporation 
and  capillarity  is  well  understood.  To  keep  it  from  falling 
too  low  at  certain  seasons,  substantial  retaining  locks  are 
built  at  stated  intervals. 

For  every  such  new  conquest  in  land  there  is  rejoicing 
throughout  the  kingdom.  When  Skals  River,  or,  as  the 
Danes  call  it,  Skalsaa,  was  regulated  in  this  way  several 
years  ago,  the  daily  press  had  this  to  say  about  the 
opening :  "  One  of  the  happiest  events  that  we  ever  have 
to  record  in  the  acquisition  of  fresh  territory  within  the 
boundaries  of  our  native  land.  Barren  heaths  are 
brought  under  cultivation.  Useless  pools  and  swamps 
are  turned  into  pastures  and  arable  land.  This  means 
that  in  the  future  more  men  can  find  a  home  and  earn 


STRUGGLE   IN   THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   LAND          31 

their  daily  bread  in  their  own  country.  Such  an  increase 
of  territory  has  taken  place  during  the  last  two  years  as 
a  result  of  the  regulation  of  the  course  of  Skalsaa." 

This  small  river  leaves  Lake  Tusing  near  Randers  and 
winds  along  almost  imperceptibly  for  some  forty-four 
miles,  emptying  into  an  arm  of  Limf  jord.  The  method  of 
procedure  has  been  to  clean  out  and  deepen  the  channel 
and  to  cut  through  the  excessive  windings.  By  this 
process  the  river  bed  has  been  shortened  by  almost  ten 
miles,  and  its  surface  level  has  been  lowered  between 
two  and  five  feet.  The  width  of  the  river  has  been  re- 
duced to  a  channel  ranging  from  twenty-five  to  fifty 
feet,  its  depth  is  from  five  to  eight  feet.  Twenty-seven 
retaining  locks  regulate  the  height  of  water.  At  an 
outlay  of  250,000  kroner  an  area  of  14,500  acres  has  been 
reclaimed,  giving  an  increase  in  value  of  at  least  4,000,000 
kroner.  In  other  parts  of  Jutland  the  lowlands  are  being 
protected  against  floods  by  river  dikes  similar  to  the 
Mississippi  levees.  The  most  recent  project  of  this  kind 
now  getting  under  way  is  a  redoubtable  one  to  wrest  the 
old  tidal  meadows  near  Ribe  in  southwest  Jutland  from 
the  North  Sea  by  erecting  great  dikes  for  miles  along 
the  shore  line.  So  the  work  goes  ever  onward  and  in  a 
short  while  even  the  ocean  storm  flood  will  be  denied  and 
held  in  check  by  the  prowess  of  man. 

Irrigation  and  Drainage.  —  Two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  of  irrigation  canals  —  the  work  of  a  few  years 


32  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

—  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  the  upland  moor.  Many 
thousand  acres  have  thus  been  transformed  from  barren- 
ness to  great  fruitfulness.  The  author  had  the  pleasure 
to  see  the  work  of  transformation  at  Hesselvig  near  Hern- 
big,  where  a  one-time  desolate  heath  has  been  changed 
to  beautiful  meadow,  field,  and  forest  in  a  surprisingly 
short  time.  Nearly  all  the  irrigation  projects  take  ad- 
vantage of  gravity  for  conducting  the  water.  In  some 
instances  water  wheels,  windmills,  and  even  steam  en- 
gines are  used  to  lift  the  water  to  higher  levels.  There 
are  even  cases  in  which  bog  water  from  draining  proj- 
ects is  used  to  irrigate  the  moor.  Bogs  and  marshes 
which  have  no  natural  outlets  are  pumped  dry  and 
then  kept  free  from  water  by  a  series  of  windmills  of 
great  power  and  occasionally  by  steam  and  petroleum 
engines. 

Making  the  Soil.  —  To  drain  the  lowlands  and  irrigate 
the  upland  moors  is  only  the  first  step  in  the  reclamation 
process.  The  "  evil  principle "  must  be  removed. 
This  means  that  the  sour  lowland  soil  must  be  given  the 
necessary  treatment  to  make  it  fit  for  cultivation  by 
neutralizing  its  acidity  and  adding  such  soil  ingredients 
as  it  may  lack.  The  higher  and  drier  uplands  generally 
are  in  need  of  most  of  the  great  elements  of  fertility, 
which  must  be  brought  to  them  before  they  are  fit  for 
use.  The  lowlands  are  rich  in  nitrogen,  but  have  prac- 
tically no  potash  and  phosphorus.  Of  these,  the  former 


STRUGGLE   IN   THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   LAND          33 

is  imported  from  the  kali  mines  of  Germany,  and  most 
of  the  latter  come  from  the  mineral  phosphate  beds  of 
Florida.  Lime  and  marl  come  from  native  supply. 
The  barnyard  fertilizers  are  carefully  husbanded  in  large 
cemented  reservoirs,  and  the  liquid  manures  are  kept  in 
underground  cisterns.  The  latter  is  carefully  sprinkled 
in  due  season  over  the  meadow  and  plowlands,  so  that 
nothing  is  lost. 

Without  marl  or  lime  the  heath  cannot  become  arable. 
Fortunate,  therefore,  are  the  heath  dwellers  who  chance 
to  live  close  to  good  marl  beds.  If  the  marl  proves  of 
poor  quality  or  in  scant  quantities,  life  cannot  thrive. 
The  Heather  Society  and  similar  organizations  have  men 
—  the  so-called  marl  seekers  —  who  devote  all  their  time 
to  finding  new  deposits.  The  author  was  crossing  the 
heath  on  one  occasion,  when  he  chanced  upon  an  excited 
group  of  men  at  work,  drawing  a  long,  slim  auger  from 
the  ground.  They  were  the  marl  seekers.  One  of 
them  poured  a  few  drops  of  acid  on  the  fine  core  of  soil 
that  had  just  been  raised  from  the  ground.  All  with 
one  voice  exclaimed :  "It  bubbles,  thank  God  for  that !  " 
Yes,  if  it  bubbles,  it  is  marl  and  means  inexpensive  fer- 
tilization of  the  soil.  The  Heather  Society  has  found  fully 
seventeen  hundred  marl  deposits,  and  the  Government 
lends  its  aid  by  transporting  it  at  very  low  cost  over  the 
state-owned  railways.  The  Society  also  owns  many 
miles  of  movable  roadbeds  and  hundreds  of  cars,  using 


steam,  petroleum,  and  horse  power  as  motive  force.  If 
the  heart  of  the  heath  is  to  be  attacked  and  no  marl  can 
be  found  there,  one  of  these  narrow-gauge  movable  tracks 
is  laid  in  ready-made  sections,  and  the  life-giving  sub- 
stance is  soon  at  hand  ready  for  use. 

In  the  islands  the  soil  is  better  than  in  Jutland,  as 
most  of  it  has  been  under  cultivation  for  ages.  Even 
here  soil  experiment  stations  are  found  in  large  numbers. 
Every  man  learns  to  take  advantage  of  this  scientific 
assistance  and  early  in  life  learns  just  what  his  land 
requires.  The  average  Dane  knows  the  significance  of 
the  phrase,  the  soil  is  holy.  For  every  crop  taken 
from  it  he  strives  to  put  back  into  it  fertilizers  at  least 
equal  to  what  was  taken  out.  In  Denmark,  he  is  con- 
sidered the  best  farmer  who  hands  over  to  his  children 
his  acres  stronger  and  better  than  he  got  them  from  his 
own  father. 

Lessons  for  American  Agriculture.  —  The  Danish  motto 
is  to  use  all  the  land,  abuse  none  of  it,  and  treat  it  well 
because  it  is  holy.  Our  forefathers  who  settled  along  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  may  have  been  religious  men  in  their 
own  way,  but  they  certainly  did  not  apply  the  teachings 
of  the  Pentateuch  in  the  way  in  which  Moses  had  in- 
tended they  should  be  applied ;  for  in  New  England  and 
the  South  alike  they  drew  the  virgin  fertility  from  the  land 
without  putting  anything  back  into  the  soil.  Perhaps 
in  those  days  it  was  impracticable  to  do  otherwise,  as  new 


STRUGGLE    IN   THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   LAND          35 

lands  cost  little  or  nothing,  and  could  be  taken  into  use 
as  soon  as  the  older  ones  were  worn  out.  At  any  rate 
it  is  high  time  now  to  conserve  what  we  have  left  and 
reclaim  and  remake  what  has  been  worn  out.  The  old 
Northeast  has  its  thousands  of  deserted  farms  and  the 
cotton  kingdom  has  hundreds  of  square  miles  of  land  at 
one  time  rich  plantations,  now  overrun  by  jack  pines  and 
sassafras.  These  must  be  reclaimed,  all  of  them.  We 
have  exploited  the  riches  of  nature  in  the  past.  But 
now  there  is  a  marked  sentiment  that  all  this  must  end, 
and  a  distinct  movement  is  already  under  way,  North, 
South,  East,  and  West,  to  usher  in  this  period  of  real 
husbandry  farming  which  is  at  our  doors. 

This  new  period  will  demand  masterful  men  with  the 
desire  for  real  conquest  in  them.  Scientific  farming  is 
not  a  simple  business  and  needs  well-prepared  men  and 
women.  With  the  ordinary  chance  farming,  and  blind 
resignation  and  fatalism,  of  which  there  has  been  too 
much  in  the  rural  communities  of  all  countries  —  and 
of  which  the  United  States  has  its  full  share  —  little 
headway  can  be  made.  Denmark  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  But  in  the  fullness  of  time  the  country 
saw  the  fatal  mistake  —  or  was  forced  to  see  it  —  and  the 
great  change  came.  The  American  nation  can  well 
profit  by  the  lesson  that  little  Denmark  teaches.  It 
will  be  a  great  thing  to  meet  these  agricultural  needs 
now  while  we  yet  are  a  young  people  and  the  virgin 


36  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

wealth  of  the  soil  is  still  in  great  measure  unexploited. 
In  the  United  States,  too,  properly  applied  education 
will  play  the  master  rdle  in  this  greatest  of  human 
enterprises. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF   COOPERATION  IN  THE  DANISH 
AGRICULTURAL  SYSTEM 

General  Statement.  —  When  one  takes  into  considera- 
tion the  deplorable  conditions  under  which  the  Danish 
peasantry  formerly  lived,  the  arrogance  with  which  the 
land-owning  nobility  treated  them,  the  injustice  of  the  land 
laws,  and  their  own  lack  of  education  and  scientific  train- 
ing, it  is  hard  to  realize  how  they  should  have  become, 
almost  over-night,  the  leaders  that  they  are  in  scientific 
agricultural  production  and  distribution.  And,  assuredly, 
this  could  not  have  come  to  pass  had  it  not  been  for 
the  leavening  and  elevating  influence  of  their  remarka- 
ble rural  schools  —  and  especially  of  the  folk  high  schools. 
Many  European  nations  have  excellent  rural  schools; 
but  few,  if  any,  can  boast  a  system  which  reaches  and 
benefits  all  classes  without  distinction  so  thoroughly, 
in  just  such  a  way  as  does  the  Danish.  The  folk  high 
schools  have  disseminated  among  all  the  country  folk  a 
broad  general  culture  which  has  enabled  them  to  rise 
out  of  self  and  local  trivialities  to  see  the  world  in  large 
perspective.  The  schools  have  helped  them  to  think  and 

37 


38  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

reason  for  themselves  and  have  called  forth  a  strong 
unifying  fellow  feeling,  which  has  made  the  people 
trust  one  another,  which  in  turn  has  made  it  possible 
and  easy  for  them  to  work  together  in  common  purpose. 

Extreme  Thoroughness  of  the  Preparatory  Steps.  - 
The  entire  agricultural  reorganization  has  been  accom- 
plished by  these  intelligent  farmers  themselves.  To  be 
sure,  scientists  among  them  have  been  responsible  for 
many  great  forward  strides ;  but  even  they  belong  to  the 
agricultural  class  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  their 
representatives,  paving  the  way  for  new  things  in  the 
agricultural  schools,  in  the  laboratories,  or  at  the  experi- 
ment farms.  "  One  is  struck,"  says  Jessie  Brochner, 
"  by  the  extreme  thoroughness  of  all  preparatory  work, 
by  the  variety  of  fields  that  have  been  made  subject  to 
practical  and  exhaustive  investigation.  Comparative 
tests  in  almost  every  department  of  agriculture  and 
dairy  farming  have  tended  to  show  the  true  merits  of 
methods,  of  breeds,  of  machinery,  of  seeds,  etc.,  and  have 
enabled  the  farmer  to  apply  the  rational  rule  of  three  to 
many  an  old  routine.  The  Danish  farmer  not  only 
knows  what  he  is  doing,  but  he  knows  why  he  is  doing 
it."  l 

American  Agricultural  Schools  have  up  to  very  re- 
cently devoted  their  energies  to  the  production  side  of 
agriculture  almost  exclusively.  There  has  been  and 

1  Jessie  Brochner,  "Danish  Life  in  Town  and  Country,"  p.  204. 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      39 

still  is  a  great  need  of  intelligent  production  from  the 
soil  of  our  country.  But  it  is  quite  noticeable  that  the 
leading  schools  are  beginning  to  lay  considerable  stress 
on  the  preparation  of  farm  products  for  the  markets  and 
the  actual  marketing  of  them.  This  is  indeed  a  happy 
sign.  Before  the  American  farmer  can  hope  to  get  much 
more  for  his  labor  than  he  is  now  getting,  he  must  learn 
the  role  of  handling  his  own  products.  But  this  lesson 
will  come  hard.  It  is  certain  to  be  a  slow  one.  It 
will  likely  begin  as  a  leaven  and  work  its  way  outward 
from  a  few  especially  favored  centers.  The  American 
nation  lacks  the  homogeneity  of  the  Danish  people. 
The  comparative  newness  of  the  land  and  its  plenty, 
the  long  distances  between  farms,  and  the  natural 
wanderlust  towards  the  setting  sun  —  all  these  must  be 
taken  into  consideration. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  interesting  to  see  what  agricultural 
Denmark  has  been  able  to  accomplish  in  the  field  of 
cooperative  enterprise. 

Buying  and  Selling  Societies.  —  The  Danish  system 
of  cooperative  societies  is  very  much  like  the  English 
Rochdale  enterprises,  with  this  marked  exception,  that 
while  the  English  societies  are  almost  wholly  confined 
to  the  towns,  in  Denmark  the  opposite  is  true.  Of  the 
230,000  members  all  but  about  2  per  cent  live  in  rural 
districts.  This  means  that  practically  every  farm  house- 
hold is  vitally  interested  in  one  or  more  such  stores.  If 


40  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

the  Danish  farmers  did  not  purchase  direct  their  fodder 
stuffs,  fertilizers,  seeds,  machinery,  and  such  things,  but 
should  have  to  pay  a  middleman's  profit,  their  whole 
system  would  collapse.  There  are  great  numbers  of  these 
societies  —  some  large,  others  small.  The  largest, — 
The  Joint  Cooperative  Society  for  Danish  Cooperative 
Stores, — which  has  thirteen  hundred  auxiliaries,  —  turned 
over,  last  year,  goods  to  the  amount  of  $16,000,000. 
Another  —  The  Jutish  Cooperative  Society  for  the 
Purchase  of  Fodder  Stuffs  —  has  a  membership  of  34,000 
and  purchased,  hi  1913,  goods  amounting  to  $7,500,000. 
A  third,  —  The  Danish  Cooperative  Society  for  the  Pur- 
chase of  Fertilizers,  —  with  six  hundred  and  seventy 
auxiliaries,  imported  from  Germany,  the  United  States, 
and  South  America,  47,000,000  kilograms  of  chemicals 
and  mineral  fertilizers,  during  the  same  period. 

The  success  of  all  such  societies  in  Denmark  is  trace- 
able to  their  practical  organization,  and  the  intelligence 
and  general  integrity  of  their  management.  They  are 
all  genuinely  cooperative,  being  based  on  the  man- vote 
principle  explained  below. 

Importance  of  Cooperative  Dairying.  —  All  Danish 
cooperative  dairies  are  founded  on  the  rock  of  faith  in 
one  another's  word  of  honor.  When  the  farmers  organize 
a  dairy,  they  pledge  themselves  to  furnish  a  given  amount 
of  milk  annually  for  a  specified  number  of  years.  This 
pledge  is  never  broken.  The  association  borrows  its 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  CREAMERY. 
A  loaded  double  decker  and  a  triple  decker  of  empties. 


A  TYPICAL  FARMERS'  COOPERATIVE  CREAMERY. 
Nearly  seventeen  hundred  such  creameries  are  in  operation  at  this  time. 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH   AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      41 

capital  on  the  joint  credit  of  its  members  who  severally 
sign  the  obligations  of  the  association,  each  limiting  his 
responsibility  to  a  specified  amount.  A  board  of  mana- 
gers is  then  chosen,  which  elects  directors  and  the  chief 
"  butter  maker."  The  enterprise  is  cooperative  in  the 
truest  sense  of  the  word,  being  based  on  the  man-vote 
principle  —  that  is,  each  man  has  only  one  vote  whether 
he  furnishes  much  or  little  milk,  whether  he  has  obligated 
himself  for  much  or  little  of  the  indebtedness.  The 
members  receive  semi-monthly  pay  checks  for  milk 
supplied.  Semi-annual  dividends  are  declared  on  actual 
profits.  When  a  specified  number  of  years  has  elapsed 
—  generally  not  more  than  twenty-eight  —  the  accumu- 
lated property  may  be  divided  among  the  stockholders 
according  to  the  amount  of  original  liability  undertaken 
by  the  various  members;  or  the  business  may  be  con- 
tinued for  another  twenty-eight  years,  and  so  on. 

Of  the  cooperative  dairies,  which  came  under  the 
writer's  notice,  the  largest,  though  in  some  respects  not 
the  most  typical,  was  the  Trifolium  Dairy  and  Butter 
Factory  near  the  center  of  Zealand.  This  is  a  very  large 
plant,  beautifully  kept,  supplied  with  all  the  latest  mod- 
ern machinery  and  many  new  contrivances  which  are  con- 
stantly being  made  in  Denmark  to  supply  dairy  needs. 
Trifolium  receives  the  milk  from  12,000  cows,  treating 
at  least  28,500,000  kilograms  of  milk;  40,000  cheeses  of 
fifty  varieties  were  stored  in  the  curing  cellars  of  the 


42  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

dairy  at  the  time  of  the  visit.  These,  if  put  end  to  end, 
would  cover  something  like  thirteen  miles,  which  should 
give  one  a  good  idea  of  the  size  of  the  plant.  Besides 
making  butter  and  cheese  this  plant  sends  specially 
bottled  milk  to  the  great  Copenhagen  Supply  Company 
and  furnishes  other  associations  as  far  south  as  Berlin 
pure  milk  for  young  babies.  About  five  thousand 
pounds  of  butter  are  churned  daily. 

It  was  of  great  interest  to  watch  the  manufacture  of 
Swiss  cheese.  Many  of  these  weigh  from  one  hundred 
and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  needing  at 
least  nineteen  hundred  pounds  of  milk  for  a  single  cheese  ! 
The  whey  from  this  cheese  is  passed  through  a  separator, 
which  takes  out  whatever  butter  fat  is  left  over ;  and  it  is 
considerable.  This  is  then  churned  into  a  second-grade 
butter.  The  remaining  whey  is  thereupon  made  into  a 
peculiar  brownish  sweet  cheese  called  in  Scandinavia 
"  Myseost."  In  great  heated  caldrons,  the  whey  is 
stirred  and  gradually  evaporated,  leaving  a  thick  brownish 
mass,  which  is  sweetened  and  pressed  into  cheese  forms. 
This  shows  how  carefully  everything  is  managed  so  that 
nothing  shall  be  wasted. 

The  farmers  of  this  association  borrowed  the  original 
capital  from  savings  banks  at  3!  per  cent,  the  plant,  at 
the  time  of  the  visit,  representing  an  investment  of 
one  million  kroner.  The  expectations  are  that  in  twenty 
years  from  the  time  of  its  founding  the  enterprise  will 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      43 

have  paid  out  the  original  investment.  Then  the  plant 
will  belong  to  the  organizers  to  do  with  as  they  please. 
Not  a  single  instance  has  ever  come  to  notice  in  the 
history  of  Danish  dairying  wherein  those  who  helped 
to  organize  it  did  not  get  a  reasonable  semi-annual 
dividend,  besides  a  good  market  price  for  their  milk. 
In  addition  to  this,  most  of  them  will  have  the  plant 
clear  of  all  encumbrance  within  a  score  of  years.  In  this 
way  they  are  paid  liberally  for  their  risk  and  trouble. 

In  1909,  the  country's  collective  number  of  milk  cows 
was  1,282,254,  of  which  83  per  cent,  or  1,059,956,  were 
cows  on  farms  delivering  milk  to  the  cooperative  dairies. 
The  total  milk  production  was  3,400,000,000  kilograms, 
making  an  average  of  twenty-five  hundred  and  seventy 
kilograms  per  cow.  The  milk  production  proved  to  be 
considerably  larger  per  cow  on  the  small  farms  than  on 
the  larger  ones. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  strict  regulations  under 
which  the  milk  is  prepared  for  the  dairies.  These  demand 
that  the  utmost  care  be  taken  during  the  process  of  milk- 
ing, and  that  the  milk  be  perfectly  clean  and  properly 
chilled.  The  managers  will  discard  all  milk  that  shows 
the  slightest  degree  of  impurity  or  uncleanness.  All  the 
milk  is  pasteurized  to  assure  the  destruction  of  germ  life. 

Cooperative  Bacon  Factories  rapidly  Increasing.  — 
Scarcely  of  less  importance  than  the  dairy  industry  is  the 
bacon  production.  The  bacon  factories  are  organized 


44  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

generally  by  the  farmers  who  form  man- vote  associations. 
This  organization  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  dairy. 
At  the  annual  or  semi-annual  meeting,  whatever  profits 
are  made  during  the  year  are  divided  among  the  members 
according  to  the  number  of  pounds  of  pork,  dressed  weight, 
furnished  by  each.  Very  often  these  factories  are  able 
to  give  their  members  not  only  the  highest  market  price, 
or  something  more  than  the  regular  market  price,  but 
give  besides,  in  the  form  of  dividends,  three  and  one 
half  ore,  or  about  one  cent  per  pound  for  their  products. 
All  this  is  in  addition  to  setting  aside  a  considerable 
reserve  to  take  care  of  the  original  funded  indebtedness. 
Practically  all  the  fine  bacon  goes  to  England,  where  the 
Danish  inspection  stamp  is  accepted  without  question. 
The  writer  visited  a  typical  bacon  factory  of  this  kind 
at  Haslev,  Zealand.  The  association  has  a  membership 
of  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty,  drawing  support  from  a 
radius  of  ten  or  twelve  English  miles.  The  members 
range  from  large  owners  who  furnish  several  hundred 
head  of  hogs  per  year  down  to  the  smallholders  with 
their  two  or  three.  Any  one  may  belong  by  solemnly 
giving  his  word  of  honor  to  furnish  all  or  a  certain  per 
cent  of  his  annual  output  of  hogs.  The  organizing 
capital  of  the  Haslev  plant  was  borrowed  in  part  from 
members  who  had  money  to  lend.  This  does  not,  how- 
ever, give  these  men  more  control  in  the  association 
than  the  smallholder  with  his  two  hogs.  When  we  begin 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      45 

to  organize  our  cooperative  concerns  on  the  man-vote 
principle  in  the  United  States  instead  of  the  old  joint 
stock  company  idea,  which  so  often  ends  by  one  or  more 
enterprising  geniuses  forcing  the  small  members  out, 
these  enterprises  will  prosper  better  than  they  do  now. 

The  actual  number  of  hogs  handled  by  the  Haslev 
farmers  last  year  was  24,433.  They  sold  meat  products 
to  the  amount  of  1,848,582  kroner,  most  of  which  was 
placed  upon  the  English  markets.  The  organizers 
received  the  highest  market  price  for  these  products  in 
addition  to  which  19,326  kroner  was  distributed  as  profits, 
and  nearly  four  thousand  kroner  set  aside  for  the  sinking 
fund.  This  factory  also  handled,  free  of  charge  to  its 
members,  170,000  pounds  of  eggs,  yielding  on  the  mar- 
ket 98,000  kroner. 

The  Danish  bacon  swine  must  not  weigh  more  than 
one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  dressed  weight.  At  the 
Haslev  factory  the  average  for  the  year  was  just  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  and  two  tenths  pounds.  A 
premium  of  one  ore  per  pound  is  paid  for  hogs  weighing 
between  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  and  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds,  dressed. 

The  inspection  is  especially  thorough.  Expert  veteri- 
narians, trained  and  appointed  by  the  government,  have 
absolute  charge  of  the  factory.  Every  carcass  exported 
must  be  entirely  free  from  disease,  no  matter  how  trifling. 
During  the  year,  thirteen  hundred  and  eighty-one  seem- 


46  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

ingly  good  hogs  were  refused  the  exportation  stamp  in 
this  factory.  Of  these,  one  thousand  and  fourteen 
received  the  blue  stamp  which  signifies  a  minor  ailment 
that  does  not  interfere  with  domestic  use ;  two  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  received  the  black  stamp  and  were 
condemned  except  for  specific  purposes;  eighty-nine 
were  condemned  as  entirely  unfit  for  food.  This  rigid 
inspection,  together  with  the  fact  that  only  the  finest 
young  swine,  fed  according  to  the  rules  of  the  National 
Swine  Association,  are  used,  explain  the  great  popularity 
of  Danish  bacon  abroad. 

Science  in  Egg  Exportation.  —  The  exportation  of  eggs 
is  the  last  of  the  three  most  important  Danish  agricul- 
tural industries.  Almost  every  man  and  woman  in  the 
country  belongs  to  one  of  the  many  gathering  associa- 
tions. At  the  time  of  becoming  a  member,  each  one 
is  pledged  solemnly  to  furnish  only  fresh,  candled  eggs. 
If  the  pledge  is  broken,  the  member  may  be  put  under 
arrest  and  severely  fined.  The  result  is  that  no  bad 
eggs  are  ever  brought  to  the  gathering  stations.  The 
Danish  exporter  has  long  ago  learned  that  large  white 
eggs  are  the  most  popular  abroad.  At  the  large  breeding 
centers  of  poultry  the  effort  is  now  being  made  to  produce 
a  cross  between  the  black  Minorcas  and  the  Leghorns 
to  supply  this  demand.  Every  member  of  a  gathering 
station  has  his  own  number  or  mark ;  the  station,  also, 
has  its  number.  The  gathering  stations  send  all  their 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      47 

eggs  to  one  of  the  great  export  centers  at  Copenhagen, 
Esbjerg,  or  elsewhere.  Here  the  eggs  are  carefully 
classified  according  to  size,  shape,  and  color,  and  placed 
in  nice  boxes  containing  a  dozen  or  a  score.  They  are 
trademarked  and  shipped  to  the  English  markets  and 
sold  to  the  best  hotels  and  private  families  at  surprisingly 
large  prices.  Indeed,  this  enterprise  has  taken  on  such 
proportions  that  very  few  eggs  produced  in  Denmark  are 
consumed  at  home.  It  is  common  to  import  eggs  from 
Finland,  Scandinavia,  or  Russia  to  supply  home  con- 
sumption. In  other  words,  the  Danes  have  developed 
this  enterprise  to  such  limits  that  it  actually  pays  to  send 
the  home  product  out  and  bring  the  foreign  product  in, 
paying  transportation  charges  two  ways,  and  yet  having 
a  wide  margin  for  the  trouble. 

Just  how  have  the  Danes  been  able  to  control  the 
markets  wherever  they  have  seriously  tried  ?  No  doubt 
the  answer  is  this :  through  the  excellence  of  the  product 
offered  for  sale  and  the  attractiveness  with  which  they 
have  been  marketed.  The  determining  factor,  more 
than  anything  else,  is  the  guaranty  of  quality  which 
may  always  be  relied  upon.  In  the  matter  of  bacon 
products,  for  example,  the  Danish  government  is  never 
known  to  have  permitted  unsound  hogs  to  pass  the 
gauntlet  of  its  veterinarians ;  the  national  reputation  and 
honor  is  staked  on  these  things,  hence  the  popularity  and 
high  place  of  Danish  agricultural  products  abroad. 


48  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

Satisfactory  Rural  Credits.  —  It  is  often  pointed  out 
that  short- time  tenantry  is  one  of  the  greatest  banes  of 
modern  agriculture.  One  of  the  many  reasons  for  loss 
of  agricultural  population  in  the  United  States  is  the 
fact  that  many  boys  who  are  really  steeped  in  a  knowledge 
of  the  soil,  find  themselves  forced  to  desert  the  country 
community  because  of  the  increasing  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing land,  due  to  rising  land  values  and  particularly 
to  high  interest  rates.  Many  of  these  are  of  too  big  a 
caliber  to  be  satisfied  to  remain  on  the  land  as  tenants. 
They  consequently  move  to  town,  where  opportunities 
for  leadership  are  more  promising.  Judging  by  the 
present  activity  in  many  circles  of  government,  the 
American  people  may  expect  very  soon  to  get  substantial 
relief  in  the  form  of  satisfactory  rural  credits  for  the 
sturdy,  rural-minded  youths  who  are  eager  to  remain 
in  the  open  country,  if  conditions  for  land  ownership 
can  be  made  more  tolerable. 

Denmark  has  a  system  of  rural  credits  that  has  made 
it  possible  for  more  than  75,000  families  to  become  free- 
holders, who  would  otherwise  have  remained  day 
laborers  in  the  country  or  else  would  have  been  absorbed 
in  the  city  maelstrom.  Besides  this,  the  system  makes 
it  easy  for  any  farmer,  be  he  big  or  small,  to  borrow 
funds  at  such  low  rates  for  long-time  periods  that  he 
can  afford  to  develop  his  holdings  to  the  highest  degree 
of  efficiency. 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      49 

The  State  Smallholdings.  —  At  this  point  it  is  well  to 
consider  briefly  the  Danish  "  Law  for  the  Creation  of 
Smallholdings."  Who  may  take  advantage  of  it? 
Just  how  does  it  operate  ? 

Any  person,  twenty-five  years  of  age  or  over  who  has 
had  five  years'  experience  in  farming  and  can  satisfy 
the  government  as  to  his  character,  may  —  under  the 
law  of  1909  —  select  a  piece  of  land  then  upon  the  market, 
not  less  than  three  acres,  the  farm,  including  stock  and 
other  equipment,  not  to  cost  in  excess  of  eight  thousand 
kroner  and  preferably  not  above  six  thousand  five  hun- 
dred. Of  this  amount  the  government  will  lend,  up  to 
nine  tenths,  money  which  is  to  be  repaid  within  ninety- 
eight  years  (interest  at  3  per  cent).  Applications  are 
considered  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  filed.  The 
number  of  loans  made  depends  upon  the  amount  annually 
made  available  for  this  purpose.  At  this  time,  the 
government  actually  pays  3^  per  cent  for  the  money 
lent  to  the  smallholders  at  3  per  cent,  but  the  general 
feeling  is  that  the  nation  at  large  can  well  afford  to  pay 
the  difference  in  order  that  "  all  men  may  get  their  legs 
under  their  own  table."  To  date,  the  national  govern- 
ment has  loaned  in  all  $25,000,000,  of  which  it  has  lost 
less  than  $10,000. 

The  Danish  Credit  Unions.  —  In  all  instances  where 
the  funds  are  provided  by  the  Government,  the  bene- 
ficiaries are  called  "  state  smallholders."  There  are 

E 


50  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

now  many  thousands  of  these  in  Denmark.  But  the 
country  has  also  what  may  be  termed  "  natural  small- 
holders," being  farmers  of  small  means  who  are  generally 
financed  by  some  one  of  the  many  credit  unions  so 
common  throughout  the  kingdom.  These  organizations 
are  not  banks  as  commonly  understood ;  but  a  number 
of  farmers  unite  to  form  the  "  union,"  making  use  of 
their  aggregate  credit  to  help  those  of  their  numbers  who 
may  need  funds.  The  borrower  simply  executes  a 
mortgage  on  his  land  in  favor  of  the  credit  union,  which 
thereupon  issues  a  bond  to  the  borrower,  who  sells  this 
upon  the  open  market  much  the  same  as  stocks  and 
bonds  are  sold  in  our  country.  In  such  a  way  the  funds 
are  secured.  These  loans  are  for  long  time  and  draw 
4  per  cent  interest. 

For  the  past  fiscal  year  the  thirteen  most  important 
Danish  Credit  Unions  showed  resources  amounting 
to  1,764,200,000  kroner  with  liabilities  of  1,617,000,000 
kroner,  leaving  a  reserve  fund  of  66,500,000  kroner. 

It  ought  to  be  stated,  finally,  that  losses  incurred  under 
the  system  of  credit  unions  have  been  trifling,  the  reserve 
fund  being  in  every  instance  more  than  able  to  meet  the 
losses.  One  credit  society  only  —  Jydsk  Kobstads- 
Kreditforening  —  has  been  obliged  to  seek  liquidation. 
"  This  liquidation,"  says  Mr.  M.  P.  Blem,  President  of 
the  Credit  Society  of  Estate  Owners  in  the  Danish 
Island  —  Diocese  Districts,  "  is  soon  to  be  finished,  and 


A  LARGE  DANISH  FARMSTEAD. 
Built  in  a  quadrangle,  the  living  house  in  the  foreground. 


SMALLHOLD  FARMSTEAD  (Rear  View).     A  FARM  OF  SEVEN  ACRES. 

Dwelling  house  in  central  section,  with  granary  and  barn  in  wings.  Well 
built,  sanitary,  and  neatly  kept.  Seventy-five  thousand  families  make 
good  livings  out  of  such  larms. 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      51 


with  the  gratifying  result  for  the  Danish  Credit  Societies, 
that  the  organization  has  been  able  to  meet  all  its  obliga- 
tions." 

Smallhold  Farmers  and  What  They  can  Teach.  — 
The  following  table  is  a  classification  of  all  Danish  farms 
according  to  size,  for  the  year  1912  : 


SIZE 

NUMBER 

TOTAL  AREA 

7^  acres  and  under     

116,614 

239  604  acres 

7^—  nj  acres      

16,988 

159  832  acres 

nj—  22\  acres    

28,002 

473,598  acres 

22J—  33$  acres    .     ,     

17,723 

496,962  acres 

\\%—  6?i  acres    . 

je,2C7 

1,752,121  acres 

67^—155  acres    

2?,6l? 

2,346,295  acres 

135—270  acres    

6  502 

i  169  484  acres 

270—540  acres    

I.C7O 

574,946  acres 

540  acres  and  over     

822 

064.,?  27  acres 

The  total  number  of  farms  is  260,083,  with  an  aggre- 
gate acreage  of  8,177,169,  making  the  average-size  farm 
in  Denmark  slightly  above  thirty  acres.  If  from  these 
figures  the  handful  of  large  estates  were  subtracted,  the 
average  size  would  be  materially  decreased. 

This  is  mentioned  here  because  of  the  marked  tendency 
of  recent  years  to  parcel  out  these  large  estates  so  that 
every  man  may  have  an  opportunity  to  live  on  his  own 
land.  This  movement  is  entirely  voluntary  on  the  part 
of  the  estate  owners,  who  often  are  the  leaders  in  the 
reforms. 

The  life  of  the  Danish  smallholders  is  so  full  of  instruc- 


52  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

tive  teachings  that  the  story  of  such  a  one  is  in- 
cluded here.  The  holding  in  question  lies  some  three 
miles  from  Ringsted,  Zealand,  and  the  owner  is  Hans 
Nielsen. 

The  author  was  driven  to  the  stead  in  a  quaint  little 
carryall  drawn  by  one  horse,  a  small  but  well-built 
animal,  seemingly  a  cross  between  the  small  Icelanders 
and  the  heavy  Jutish  sorrels.  The  road,  like  all  Danish 
roads,  was  a  well-rounded  macadam  with  large,  open 
gutters  at  the  sides.  Just  on  the  edge  of  Ringsted  lay 
the  cooperative  bacon  factory  of  which  Mr.  Nielsen  is  a 
member  and  to  which  he  annually  sells  some  twenty  odd 
bacon  hogs.  A  little  further  out  we  passed  Kaerehave 
School  for  Smallholders,  one  of  a  number  of  schools 
established  here  and  there  over  the  country  to  help 
farmers  solve  the  problems  peculiar  to  the  successful 
tilling  of  smallholds.  Our  host  pointed  with  much 
pride  to  the  fact  that  both  his  wife  and  he  had  taken 
short  courses  at  Kaerehave,  a  fact  which  was  later  at- 
tested by  two  small  framed  diplomas  hanging  over  the 
lounge  in  the  Nielsen  living  room. 

Arrived  at  the  stead,  we  found  it  a  place  of  seven 
acres,  in  rather  light  soil,  though  in  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  farm  buildings  lay  back  from  the  road  several 
hundred  yards ;  but  as  the  soil  must  all  be  used,  the 
road  was  flanked  by  high- stemmed  cherry  trees  instead 
of  ordinary  shade  trees.  The  whole  made  a  striking 


COOPERATION   IN   DANISH   AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      53 

object  lesson.  The  living  house,  barn,  and  stable  were 
all  built  together  under  one  roof,  according  to  ancient 
custom ;  though  the  place  was  so  beautifully  clean  that 
there  was  no  seeming  nuisance  whatever.  The  house 
had  four  rooms,  simply  and  comfortably  furnished. 
Here  lived  Mr.  Nielsen  and  his  family  of  five,  including 
the  hired  domestic.  The  cow  barn  was  separated  from 
the  dwelling  house  by  a  solid  brick  wall.  The  entire 
structure,  by  the  way,  was  made  of  brick  with  a  stucco 
finish,  and  with  thatched  roof.  The  barn  was  the  home 
of  three  fine  red  Fiinen  cows  for  nine  months  out  of  the 
year.  They  certainly  lived  in  comfort  in  their  painted 
stalls  and  within  freshly  whitewashed  walls.  The 
floor  was  cement,  furnished  with  a  drain  communicating 
directly  with  an  underground  cistern,  where  was  stored 
the  liquid  manure  for  such  time  as  it  should  be  sprinkled 
over  the  clover  meadow  or  the  plow  land.  Another 
cemented  reservoir  contained  all  other  manure  from  the 
barn  and  stable.  Complimented  on  the  care  exercised 
in  saving  all  fertilizers,  Mr.  Nielsen  smilingly  made 
answer,  "  Yes,  it  is  the  care  of  these  small  things,  as  you 
call  them,  that  makes  our  success  possible.  Were  we 
Danes  to  pitch  our  manure  in  heaps  out  of  doors  the 
way  you  are  said  to  do  in  America,  permitting  the  real 
manure  to  run  off,  and  then  scattering  the  straw  over  the 
fields,  we  should  go  bankrupt !  " 

Our  attention  was  next  called  to  the  cows,  and  it  soon 


54  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

became  perfectly  clear  to  us  that  star  boarders  are  un- 
known at  the  cow  barns  of  Danish  smallholders.  A  daily 
record  of  each  cow  is  kept  in  a  frame  on  the  barn  wall. 
If  one  of  the  cows  should  chance  to  fall  the  least  bit 
below  a  certain  standard  in  butter  fat  and  milk,  she 
would  immediately  be  led  away  to  the  slaughterhouse. 
Such  an  inscription  as  this  appeared  over  the  head  of 
each  of  Mr.  Nielsen's  cows: 

Rose  —  Born  14/6,  1905. 
Sire  L.  VII. 
Dam  B.  13. 

Calved  7/11  .  .  .  Bred  16/12. 
Milk,  13,  563  Ibs.  (Danish)  —  Butter,  489  Ibs.  (Danish). 

It  appeared  from  the  record  that  these  three  cows  had 
yielded  their  owner  39,952  pounds  of  milk  and  1447 
pounds  of  butter  during  the  year. 

The  pigsty  was  an  interesting  place.  At  this  time 
thirteen  shoats  were  getting  ready  for  market.  They 
were  of  the  Danish  breed  of  whites,  which  grow  rapidly, 
are  very  prolific,  and  well  suited  for  bacon  purposes. 
Mr.  Nielsen  boasted  of  having  his  hogs  ready  for  the 
cooperative  slaughterhouse  when  they  were  no  older 
than  three  months.  They  would  then  weigh  from  one 
hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds, 
dressed  weight,  and  therefore  draw  the  additional  price 
of  one  ore  per  pound  offered  for  this  class  of  hogs.  They 


COOPERATION   IN  DANISH  AGRICULTURAL   SYSTEM      55 

are  fattened  on  sugar  beets  ground  up  with  corn  and 
oatmeal,  to  which  is  added  a  little  finely  chopped  clover 
hay. 

This  particular  holding  emphasized,  as  side  lines  of 
production,  apple  growing,  egg  production,  and  bee 
culture.  The  yield  in  apples  was  particularly  remark- 
able. Because  the  land  is  so  limited,  dwarf  trees  are 
grown,  set  from  nine  to  ten  feet  apart.  Thus  Monk's 
Codlin  trees  planted  in  1908  yielded,  in  1912,  at  the  rate 
of  1274  kroner,  or  $344.60,  per  acre.  Denmark,  by  the 
way,  has  recently  developed  an  apple  of  its  own  which 
promises  to  strike  the  American  importer  a  serious  blow. 
This  is  the  famous  Pettersen's  Reinette,  which  combines 
many  of  the  fine  qualities  of  our  Stark's  Delicious  with 
the  keeping  qualities  of  the  Gravenstein. 

Mr.  Nielsen's  farm  was  a  money-maker  because  it  was 
scientifically  handled.  In  front  of  the  house  were  beauti- 
ful flower  beds  in  the  midst  of  which  stood  a  number  of 
beehives.  Immediately  at  its  rear  was  an  interesting 
kitchen  garden.  The  fields  received  every  ounce  of 
manure  produced  on  the  place  and,  hi  addition,  a  small 
amount  of  Florida  rock  phosphates.  One  half  acre 
was  devoted  to  apples  and  small  fruit,  an  acre  and  one 
half  to  mangolds,  rutabagas,  and  sugar  beets;  the  re- 
mainder of  the  land  comprised  clover  and  meadow, 
barley,  oats,  and  a  mixture  of  legumes.  The  rotation 
employed  was  the  following:  (i)  barley,  (2)  mangolds 


56  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

and  sugar  beets,   (3)   legumes  for  fodder,   (4)   barley, 
(5)  rutabagas,  (6)  oats,  and  (7)  clover. 

At  the  house,  over  a  cup  of  excellent  coffee,  Mr. 
Nielsen  gave  his  life  story.  Born  of  poor  parents  — 
agricultural  day  laborers  on  one  of  the  large  estates  — 
he  had  known  considerable  want  in  his  early  years.  He, 
himself,  following  in  the  father's  footsteps,  had  become  an 
agricultural  laborer,  accumulating  a  small  sum  of  money. 
He  had  been  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  good  rural 
schools,  which  placed  him  in  line  for  land  ownership 
when  the  first  Danish  smallhold  law  went  into  effect  in 
1899.  With  a  government  loan  of  five  thousand  kroner 
he  had  purchased  his  seven  acres,  paying  four  hundred 
and  twelve  kroner  per  acre.  The  buildings  had  cost 
him  three  thousand  kroner,  and  the  stock  and  other 
equipment  seventeen  hundred  kroner.  The  total  initial 
outlay  was  seventy-five  hundred  and  eighty-four 
kroner,  or  $2049.70.  His  balance  sheet  for  the  current 
year  showed  that,  aside  from  giving  a  good  living  to  the 
family,  he  had  taken  in  above  expenses  two  thousand 
and  sixty-six  and  five  tenths  kroner,  equivalent  to 
$558.51,  which  must  be  considered  good  returns  on  an 
investment  of  only  $2049.70.  It  is  but  fair  to  add,  how- 
ever, that  Mr.  Nielsen's  balance  sheet  showed  up  better 
than  the  average. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  RURAL  DENMARK 

Economic  Prosperity  and  Satisfactory  Social  Life.  — 
It  is  well  to  realize  that  two  things  at  least  are  necessary 
if  we  would  hold  a  strong  population  on  the  soil :  first, 
the  returns  from  the  land  must  be  commensurate  with  the 
money  and  labor  invested ;  second,  the  daily  life  on  the 
farm  must  be  made  socially  attractive  and  wholesome. 
Without  these  no  man  can  really  feel  content  to  remain 
there  all  his  life.  This  condition  is  universal.  Denmark 
has  solved  this  side  of  the  question  largely  through  its 
schools.  In  our  own  country  many  farmers  are  becom- 
ing wealthy  and  are  freer  from  care  than  are  their  city 
brothers ;  but  the  fact  remains,  nevertheless,  that  if  one 
leaves  out  of  consideration  the  unearned  increment  in 
land  values,  American  farmers  are  not,  on  the  average, 
getting  as  large  returns  as  they  should  have  on  the  invest- 
ment made.  This  has  caused  considerable  shifting  about 
from  place  to  place,  often  leading  to  the  abandonment 
of  the  farm  for  town. 

Even  when  agriculture  is  made  more  profitable  than 
is  usually  the  case  now,  this  alone  will  not  be  sufficient 
inducement  to  keep  people  in  country  districts.  The 

57 


58  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

social  life  of  the  farm  must  contain  all  the  elements  that 
normal  human  beings  crave.  If  the  simplest  social  sat- 
isfactions are  wanting,  country  people  are  sure  to  go 
where  they  can  get  them.  This  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the 
most  aggravated  causes  for  much  moving  away  from 
the  farm  in  some  sections  of  the  United  States  to-day. 

Denmark  is  centuries  old  and  has  either  long  ago 
mastered,  or  perhaps  never  had,  many  of  the  problems  of 
everyday  social  life  that  American  farmers  must  contend 
with.  The  American  people  have  settled  an  empire  in  a 
few  short  generations,  bringing,  as  it  were,  an  old  civiliza- 
tion with  them.  The  European  nations  have  evolved 
slowly  and  painfully,  checked  first  by  the  beasts  of  the 
forests,  then  by  human  enemies,  plagues,  and  what  not. 
The  United  States  has  become  settled  in  spite  of,  or,  at 
least,  unchecked  by,  all  such  enemies.  But  we  are 
young  upon  the  prairies,  and  plains,  and  mountain  sides ; 
and  vast  distances,  and  comparative  isolation,  family 
from  family,  make  the  task  of  thorough  socialization 
comparatively  slow  and  difficult. 

A  Social  Life  in  Harmony  with  its  Natural  Environ- 
ment. —  The  first  thing  to  strike  one  forcibly  in  the  study 
of  Danish  rural  life  is  that  this  life  accords  and  harmonizes 
with  the  environment  in  which  the  people  live.  Our 
great  country  life  worker,  L.  H.  Bailey,  says  in  one  of 
his  books  that  "  the  country  man  must  be  able  to  interest 
himself  spiritually  in  his  own  native  environment  as  his 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE    OF   RURAL   DENMARK  59 

chief  resource  of  power  and  happiness."  l  This  is  what 
Danish  country  folk  do.  Their  first  love  is  for  the  soil. 
They  understand  in  good  measure  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  that  the  soil  is  holy.  Whether  it  is  on  account  of 
the  forethought  of  their  leaders  or  just  because  the  world 
moves  more  slowly  on  that  side  of  the  Atlantic,  —  it  is 
hard  to  say  which,  —  at  any  rate,  we  could  find  none  of 
your  enthusiasts  over  there  trying  to  transplant  every 
form  of  city  entertainment  to  country  districts,  to  keep 
farmers  from  moving  to  town.  There  is  often  grave 
danger  of  overdoing  country  life  affairs  by  trying  to 
transplant  bodily  —  as  some  of  our  reformers  would  do 
-  the  cheap  social  life  of  the  town  to  the  open  country. 
This  Danish  love  of  nature  takes  form  in  flowers  and 
shrubbery,  in  small  formal  gardens  with  their  graveled 
walks  and  vine-clad  arbors.  Life  is  not  so  strenuous  as 
with  us  —  and  this  has  both  its  good  and  bad  sides ; 
but,  at  any  rate,  the  farmer  finds  time  for  more  than 
merely  work  from  starlight  to  starlight  to  accumulate 
an  abundance  of  this  world's  goods.  With  his  wife  he 
has  time  for  more  than  '  a  wearisome  round  of  labor,  of 
eating  and  drinking,  of  saving  and  skimping,  of  doing 
without  farm  conveniences  and  household  helps  — 
solely  to  make  money.'  Not  that  this  is  intended  as 
a  general  charge  against  the  American  farmers,  for  no 
farmers  in  the  world  live  better  than  ours,  wherever 

1  "The  State  and  the  Farmer,"  p.  65. 


60  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

they  have  the  right  outlook  on  life;  but  it  is  a  great 
thing,  after  all,  in  the  midst  of  the  workaday  struggle, 
to  be  able  to  sit  down  in  the  midst  of  one's  flowers  and 
rest,  without  worrying  about  the  cabbages  and  the  pigs 
all  the  time  —  and  this  is  true  of  the  average  housewife 
in  rural  Denmark. 

Feast  Days  and  Hospitality.  —  The  country  home  is 
made  as  attractive  as  the  owner's  means  will  permit.  If 
anything,  many  Danish  rural  folk  stretch  their  incomes 
to  the  breaking  point,  in  order  to  show  their  hospitality. 
Such  seasons  as  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Whitsuntide,  are 
celebrated  with  great  festivities,  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  those  so  fortunate  as  to  be  partakers.  Seed  time 
and  harvest,  also,  have  their  own  rollicking  merry- 
makings. The  hearth  is  no  longer  the  literal  fireplace, 
but  it  is  still  in  spirit  the  center  of  the  rural  home.  Of  an 
evening  one  can  still  hear  song  and  folklore  dispensed  as 
of  old.  Many  of  the  household  industries,  which  with 
us  have  long  ago  passed  away,  are  still  doing  much  to 
hold  the  family  group  together  and  are  still  giving  the 
head,  heart,  and  hand  education  that  we  have  begun  to 
reintroduce  through  such  school  subjects  as  manual 
training  and  household  economics. 

Trained  Artisans  Important  Factors  in  Rural  Social 
Life.  —  Rural  Denmark  has,  as  was  stated  above,  a 
double  social  life.  First,  there  are  the  fanners  who 
devote  their  time  to  the  soil;  and,  second,  the  country 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE    OF   RURAL  DENMARK  6 1 

artisans  —  such  as  blacksmiths,  wheelwrights,  cobblers, 
weavers,  and  short-time  laborers  —  who  are  trained  in 
the  schools  for  country  occupations.  This  really  gives  a 
twofold  social  life  to  the  country.  Some  of  the  folk  high 
schools  and  local  agricultural  schools  offer  carefully 
planned  courses  for  young  men  who  will  cast  their  lot 
as  builders  and  small-scale  manufacturers  with  the 
villages  and  open  country.  But  the  special  schools  for 
smallholders  offer,  perhaps,  the  most  attractive  and 
practical  courses  for  this  group  of  workers.  Some  of 
the  smallholders  who  have  secured  their  few  acres  through 
government  or  credit  union  assistance  combine  some 
form  of  artisanship  with  small  farming,  thereby  enhanc- 
ing their  incomes  materially.  The  artisanship  influence 
has  certainly  tended  to  keep  the  rural  social  life  from 
becoming  monotonous  through  one-sidedness  and  same- 
ness of  routine. 

One  cannot  help  but  believe  that  there  was  more  real 
sociability  in  our  American  farm  communities  in  the 
early  times  than  now  —  at  the  time  before  the  passing 
of  the  barn  raising,  the  quilting,  the  husking  bee,  the 
singing  school,  and  the  folk  dance.  These  have  gone 
for  good  and  always,  and  the  trouble  is  that  the  schools 
and  the  other  organizations  which  must  furnish  the 
modern  substitutes  have  not  yet  been  able  to  do  so. 

Significance  of  Church  and  School.  —  All  of  the  every- 
day life  of  the  Danish  country  people  is  lived  around  or 


62  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

at  the  common  community  center ;  that  is,  their  every- 
day activities,  their  thoughts,  their  life  plans,  are  all 
centered  in  the  work  of  the  two  great  country  institutions 
—  the  school  and  the  church.  And,  when  the  term 
"  centered  "  is  employed,  this  embraces  not  alone  the 
immediate  work  of  the  church  and  school,  but  all  the  in- 
fluences for  better  life  that  indirectly  emanate  from  them. 

At  the  crossroads  or  on  the  edge  of  the  quaint  old 
hamlet  lies  the  schoolmaster's  house,  a  rambling  place, 
neatly  kept  without  and  within.  Flowers,  graveled 
walks,  and  rustic  seats  fill  the  front  yard.  To  the  rear, 
are  a  vegetable  garden  and  an  experimental  plot,  in 
which  the  schoolmaster  and  the  children  work  from  day 
to  day,  side  by  side,  while  the  earth  preaches  sermons 
for  their  ears,  making  them  love  to  live  close  to  nature's 
heart.  Then  there  is  the  schoolhouse,  in  ample  grounds, 
just  beyond.  Here,  too,  the  love  of  nature  is  apparent, 
both  in  planting  and  in  growing  things.  The  school- 
master dwells  in  the  midst  of  his  people  twelve  months 
out  of  the  year.  In  this  way  he  learns  to  know  them, 
becoming  a  more  and  more  useful  community  force,  able 
and  competent  to  give  assistance  in  practical  farm  life 
affairs. 

Just  beyond  the  schoolyard  lies  the  fine  old  manse  or 
parsonage  and  the  century-old  stone  church,  which  is 
never  lacking  in  a  Danish  rural  community.  Just  as  the 
schoolmaster  lives  in  the  midst  of  his  people,  honored 


THE   SOCIAL  LIFE    OF   RURAL  DENMARK  63 

and  revered,  so  the  pastor  dwells  in  the  midst  of  his 
flock,  ministering  to  them,  baptizing  them,  marrying 
them  and,  finally,  burying  them  in  the  graveyard  out 
beyond  the  church.  There  can  be  no  question  of  dying 
country  churches  in  a  community  where  such  a  pastor 
labors.  He  is  a  scholarly  man ;  he  has  studied  the  needs 
of  his  people ;  and  now  he  has  rightfully  taken  his  place 
as  spiritual  leader  and  adviser  who,  together  with  the 
schoolmaster,  gives  the  country  community  the  high 
level  of  idealism  necessary  in  order  to  keep  pace  with 
the  progress  made  at  the  industrial  centers. 

One  often  hears  the  statement  that  "  the  Danish 
farmer  leans  for  support  with  one  shoulder  on  the  school- 
house  and  the  other  on  the  church  while  plowing  his 
fields."  For  all  this  he  is  not  much  of  a  Puritan.  He 
attends  church  zealously  enough  on  Sunday  morning, 
but  follows  the  continental  European  custom  of  making 
the  afternoon  a  time  of  amusement  and  entertainment. 
Most  of  this  is  devoted  to  innocent  neighborly  calls. 
Many  spend  the  time  in  field  and  forest  with  lunch 
basket  on  one  arm  and  the  family,  figuratively  speaking, 
on  the  other.  In  a  few  backward  places  one  can  still 
find  drinking  and  carousing;  but  this  is  less  frequent 
than  it  used  to  be. 

Wholesome  Recreative  Life.  —  It  may  be  well  at  this 
point  to  be  more  specific  as  to  what  Danish  country 
people  do  for  recreation. 


64  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

First  of  all,  they  sing.  The  music  is  not  classic  by  any 
means ;  but  it  keeps  alive  an  emotionalism  and  love  of 
rhythmic  movement  that  saves  the  somewhat  phlegmatic 
Scandinavian  farmer  from  his  own  mysticism.  Folk 
songs  and  patriotic  songs  are  sung  everywhere  and  are 
known  by  heart.  Even  the  long,  slowly  swinging  church 
hymns  are  favorites  at  all  sorts  of  gatherings  and  speak 
well  for  the  religious  tone  of  the  community. 

Athletics  are  next  held  in  high  esteem.  The  schools,  as 
has  been  said,  all  teach  physical  education  in  the  form  of 
gymnastics  and  play,  from  the  first  years  of  the  elemen- 
tary schools  up  through  the  entire  system.  The  young 
men  and  women  who  have  graduated  from  the  advanced 
rural  schools  continue  these  physical  activities  all  their 
lives,  hi  the  community  gymnasium.  Nothing  can  be 
more  striking  than  to  see,  as  one  commonly  does  in 
rural  districts,  white-haired  old  men  turn  somersaults 
and  handsprings  as  limberly  as  the  young  folks.  And 
why  not?  Is  it  not  true  that  a  man  is  young  just  about 
as  long  as  he  acts  young?  These  farmers  seem  to  have 
the  same  love  of  personal  prowess  that  marked  their 
Viking  forefathers  of  some  centuries  back.  Ring  rid- 
ing —  a  form  of  horseback  tourney  —  is  a  favorite  pas- 
time, especially  during  Lenten  week.  Each  season  of  the 
year,  indeed,  has  its  favorite  pastime.  Of  the  seasonal 
gatherings  none  is  more  enjoyable  than  the  Host  Gilde 
or  Harvest  Festival.  When  the  last  sheaf  is  tied,  the 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE    OF   RURAL   DENMARK  65 

harvesters,  both  men  and  women,  march  in  triumph  to 
the  largest  granary  on  the  place,  which  has  been  made 
festive  with  garlands  and  flowers.  Here  the  good  house- 
wife has  a  great  feast  spread  for  them.  Later  comes  sing- 
ing of  folk  songs,  with  dancing  and  play  games  on  the 
green.  Occasionally  a  little  discord  may  be  injected 
into  the  rollicking  fun  by  the  dispensing  of  intoxicants, 
but  this  is  getting  less  and  less  frequent. 

The  monthly  market  day  plays  a  great  r61e  in  the 
recreative  life  of  the  country  folk.  It  is  much  like  the 
annual  country  festival  day  that  is  now  being  introduced 
so  successfully  by  country  life  leaders  in  some  of  our 
states.  The  chief  difference  is,  in  Denmark  the  gatherings 
come  twelve  times  a  year.  First  of  all,  the  market  is 
the  "  clearing  house  "  for  the  extra  stock  that  may  have 
accumulated  at  the  farm  place.  Long  lines  of  horses, 
cows,  and  sheep  may  be  seen,  up  and  down  the  village 
street,  under  the  inspection  of  critical  buyers.  But 
there  are  sports  and  games,  feasting  and  dancing,  and 
meeting  of  old  friends,  and,  occasionally,  too  much 
drinking  of  beer.  With  all  due  allowance  for  the 
latter  the  market  gatherings  do  much  to  bind  the  coun- 
try folk  in  common  ties  and  to  satisfy  the  many  soul 
cravings  which  nothing  short  of  city  glamour  and  glajre 
could  otherwise  fill. 

Aside  from  what  has  been  mentioned  here,  the  rural 
teachers  and  pastors  do  much  for  organized  recreation, 


66  RURAL   DENMARK   AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 

which  tends  to  offset  many  counter  attractions  away  from 
the  soil.  Lecture  courses,  extension  courses,  gatherings 
of  young  and  old  people  at  the  assembly  halls  for  such 
occasions  as  the  narration  of  Norse  myths  and  fairy 
tales,  —  all  come  within  this  field  of  work. 

Dearth  of  Rural  Recreation  in  the  United  States.  — 
At  this  point  it  is  well  to  consider  a  law  of  labor  and 
recreation  which  must  always  be  reckoned  with,  whether 
one  lives  in  country  or  town.  It  can  be  stated  briefly 
in  these  words :  Systematic  labor  must  always  react  in 
organized  recreation.  That  is  to  say,  whenever  the 
human  being  is  tied  down  to  hours  of  self-repression,  his 
body  craves  a  certain  amount  of  relaxation  to  be  sought  in 
play  or  amusement  of  some  sort.  If  this  is  wisely  pro- 
vided, all  will  go  well;  if  ignored  as  unnecessary  and 
wasteful,  the  person  affected  will  be  sure  to  seek  relief 
or  an  outlet  for  his  pent-up  desires  in  questionable  ways 
and  places. 

Acting  upon  this  principle,  factory  owners  and  other 
great  corporations  in  the  United  States,  employing  many 
laborers,  are  beginning  to  furnish  their  employees 
attractive  recreation,  such  as  individual  gardens,  play- 
grounds equipped  for  baseball,  volley  ball  and  croquet, 
swimming  pools,  reading  rooms  and  social  chat  rooms. 
Now  our  country  folk  have  had  no  such  organized  recrea- 
tion to  speak  of,  to  offset  their  natural  cravings.  As  a 
result,  great  numbers  of  young  men  and  women  of  the 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE    OF  RURAL  DENMARK  67 

convivial  type  and  strongly  developed  social  instincts 
have  abandoned  the  country  for  the  towns  and  cities 
in  search  of  just  these  things. 

Let  us  remember,  it  is  generally  the  lack  of  spiritual 
things  as  much  as  a  lack  of  material  things  that  attracts 
the  youth  to  the  city  glamour.  How  often  could  not  the 
condition  that  the  poet  here  besings  have  been  escaped 
had  we  only  recognized  the  fundamental  craving  of  the 
youthful  soul  for  recreation  : 

"  The  old  farm  home  is  Mother's  yet  and  mine, 
And  filled  it  is  with  plenty  and  to  spare, 
But  we  are  lonely  here  in  life's  decline, 

Though  fortune  smiles  around  us  everywhere ; 
We  look  across  the  gold 
Of  the  harvests,  as  of  old  — 
The  corn,  the  fragrant  clover,  and  the  hay ; 
But  most  we  turn  our  gaze 
As  with  eyes  of  other  days, 
To  the  orchard  where  the  children  used  to  play." 


PART   II 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  RURAL  SCHOOLS  IN  THE 
NATIONAL  REORGANIZATION 

CHAPTER    V 

THE  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  IN  GENERAL  OUTLINE 

The  Schools  that  have  made  this  Agricultural  Pros- 
perity Possible.  —  To  say  that  the  rural  schools  of  Den- 
mark, unaided  by  other  forces,  are  solely  responsible 
for  this  great  measure  of  agricultural  prosperity  might, 
perhaps,  be  difficult  to  substantiate.  The  spur  of 
necessity,  we  have  learned,  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
making  the  beginnings  of  the  movement.  Patriotic 
men  rose  up  and  organized  the  forces  at  their  disposal 
as  best  they  could ;  but,  without  the  broad  general  intel- 
ligence furnished  through  the  remarkable  system  of  new 
rural  schools,  the  peasantry  would  have  been  hi  no  condi- 
tion to  receive  and  profit  by  the  progressive  propaganda 
of  their  leaders.  These  schools  are,  indeed,  organized  as  a 
part  of  the  movement  and  stand,  therefore,  in  the  relation 
both  of  cause  and  effect ;  for,  while  brought  into  being 

68 


SYSTEM    OF   EDUCATION   IN   GENERAL   OUTLINE       69 

or  at  least  revitalized  and  perfected  through  the  same 
necessity  which  made  patriotic  men  and  women  come  to 
the  rescue  of  the  fatherland,  the  schools  alone  could  bring 
the  system  to  full  fruition  by  making  education  available 
to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  rural  districts.  The 
schools  that  brought  all  this  to  pass  may  be  classified  as 
rural  elementary  schools,  folk  high  schools,  local  agricul- 
tural schools,  rural  schools  of  household  economics,  and 
special  schools  for  smallholders. 

The  rural  elementary  schools  of  Denmark  emphasize 
to  a  remarkable  degree  the  fundamental  school  subjects 
and  do  the  work  in  them  in  a  most  thoroughgoing  fash- 
ion; but  at  the  same  time  they  have  seen  the -way 
clear  to  root  the  entire  course  of  study  to  the  soil  in  such 
a  way  that  they  are  able  to  inculcate  in  the  pupils  love  of 
soil  tilling  as  a  life  calling. 

The  folk  high  schools,  which  are  Denmark's  unique 
contribution  to  education,  have  gone  farther  by  actually 
disseminating  a  peasant  culture  throughout  the  agricul- 
tural communities  which  has  freed  the  peasantry  from 
city  domination  until  they  now  practically  control  the 
country  both  economically  and  politically.  According 
to  the  testimony  of  prominent  Danish  leaders,  the  great 
agricultural  victories  of  modern  times  were  won  through 
the  work  of  these  so-called  schools  for  grown-up  people. 
Their  finest  work  is  the  development  of  character  which, 
these  leaders  find,  forms  the  basis  for  the  whole  future 


70  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

development  of  the  nation.  The  mutual  trust  that  the 
schools  teach  has  made  the  entire  movement  of  coopera- 
tive enterprise  in  the  kingdom  possible.  Without  this 
trust  in  one  another  the  farmers'  credit  societies  could 
not  exist;  nor  could  the  thousands  of  bacon  factories, 
dairies,  and  buying  and  selling  associations  carry  on 
their  splendid  work. 

The  folk  high  schools,  then,  accomplish  their  ends 
through  the  building  of  noble  character  and  stimulating 
it  to  the  loftiest  idealism.  Still  other  institutions,  under 
the  name  of  rural  agricultural  schools  and  rural  schools  of 
household  economics,  lay  their  emphasis  more  particu- 
larly on  the  theory  of  scientific  agriculture  and  practical 
home  making,  thus  preparing  the  way  for  the  applica- 
tion of  these  theories  at  home  on  the  farm.  These 
schools  may  be  considered,  in  a  way,  as  continuation 
schools  for  the  folk  high  schools,  since  practically  all 
accredited  schools  of  this  kind  demand  attendance  at 
one  of  the  folk  high  schools  as  a  requirement  for  entrance. 
Finally,  a  special  kind  of  school  is  organized  for  smallhold 
farmers  to  aid  them  in  the  difficult  problem  of  making  a 
living  out  of  a  few  acres  of  land  —  a  thing  which  would 
be  utterly  impossible  were  it  not  for  the  well-systematized 
training  offered  in  these  schools. 

The  Free  Elementary  Schools.  —  The  scheme  of 
education  for  farm  life  begins  with  the  free  elementary 
schools,  and  is,  thereafter,  continued  part  of  the  time  in 


SYSTEM   OF   EDUCATION   IN   GENERAL   OUTLINE       71 

the  classroom  and  part  of  the  time  in  practical  outside 
work  until  all  has  been  mastered  that  is  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  agriculture.  The  elementary  schools  are  com- 
pulsory from  the  age  of  seven  to  fourteen,  although  many 
children  enter  school  at  six.  The  compulsory  attendance 
laws  are  enforced  under  such  rigid  regulations  that  practi- 
cally no  children  of  school  age  evade  them.  The  schools 
are  taught  by  mature,  professional  teachers  who  devote 
their  lives  to  work  in  the  country.  The  uniform 
thoroughness  which  marks  the  elementary  rural  schools 
is  clearly  explainable  in  well-trained  teachers  of  long 
tenure  in  the  same  community.  These  teachers  are  well 
paid  and  content  with  their  lot ;  they  rank  high  socially 
and  in  most  instances  make  use  of  their  opportunities 
to  become  community  leaders  and  organizers.  Under 
such  teachers  —  a  large  majority  of  them  are  men  —  the 
children  complete  the  first  seven  or  eight  grades  of  school 
work,  in  which  great  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  mother 
tongue,  mathematics,  and  other  essential  subjects,  to- 
gether with  religious  instruction,  nature  study,  music, 
and  gymnastics.  At  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age 
most  Danish  children  are  confirmed  in  the  State  Church, 
ending  the  responsibility  of  the  State  so  far  as  free  in- 
struction is  concerned  —  a  fact  which  would  seem  a  great 
weakness  in  the  system  were  it  not  for  the  many  Govern- 
ment-aided continuation  schools  open  to  every  worthy 
farm  boy  or  girl. 


72  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

The  Period  of  Physical  Growth.  —  After  leaving  the 
free  elementary  schools  a  few  of  the  children  immediately 
enter  the  Middle  Schools,  which  are  found  in  every  one 
of  the  organized  towns ;  and  those  children  eventually 
make  their  way  through  the  Gymnasia  and  Real  Skoler 
to  the  National  University  or  the  National  Polytechnic 
Institute.  But  the  rural  children  who  go  the  so-called 
learned  way  are  not  many  compared  with  those  who 
remain  on  the  farm.  And  yet,  the  latter  are  not  left 
without  further  opportunity  for  study.  While  it  is  true 
that  some  of  the  laborers'  children  go  to  work  immedi- 
ately upon  leaving  the  elementary  school  or  have  to  be 
satisfied  with  evening  school  instruction,  nevertheless 
a  much  larger  number,  relatively,  take  advantage  of 
continuation  schools  than  in  the  United  States.  This  is 
borne  out  by  statistics  which  —  for  1906  —  show  that 
33  per  cent  of  all  young  men  and  a  slightly  smaller  num- 
ber of  young  women  of  eighteen  years  and  over  attend  the 
folk  high  schools  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  while 
14  per  cent  of  the  young  men  attend  special  agricultural 
schools  in  addition  to  the  agricultural  studies  offered  in 
many  of  the  folk  high  schools,  and  a  considerable  number 
of  young  women  attend  special  schools  of  domestic 
science.  All  of  these  institutions  are  situated  in  the 
open  country. 

Pupils  are  not  accepted  at  the  above-mentioned  schools 
before  the  candidate  for  admission  has  reached  eighteen 


SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION   IN   GENERAL   OUTLINE       73 

years  of  age.  There  is  then  a  period  of  four  years  after 
leaving  the  elementary  school  for  which  an  accounting 
must  be  made.  Danish  thinkers  are  pretty  well  satisfied 
that  these  years  of  adolescence  should  be  devoted  par- 
ticularly to  physical  development  and  practical  tasks 
rather  than  to  classroom  routine.  They  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  during  this  period  of  growth  —  of  change 
from  youth  to  young  manhood  —  the  physical  in  the 
human  being  seems  to  have  the  upper  hand,  and  intellec- 
tual attainments  are  acquired  under  compulsion  chiefly 
and  often  at  the  sacrifice  of  health.  Therefore,  with 
them  this  is  essentially  a  period  of  work  and  play.  The 
children  then  learn  practical  agriculture  and  household 
duties  at  home ;  or,  better  still,  are  apprenticed  to  learn 
these  at  recognized  model  farms,  where  they  get  the 
benefits  of  the  knowledge  of  "  control  assistants  "  or 
specialists  in  farm  science,  maintained  in  the  field  at 
State  and  local  expense. 

It  is  quite  common  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  working 
on  these  model  farms.  But  time  is  also  given  for  play 
and  gymnastics.  It  is  compulsory  to  give  instruction 
in  gymnastics  in  the  elementary  schools.  This  is  con- 
tinued in  all  the  folk  and  agricultural  schools.  More- 
over, almost  every  country  community  has  its  local 
gymnastic  organization  and  usually  its  own  assembly 
hall  and  gymnasium.  Here  the  youth  while  out  of 
school,  and  their  fathers  for  that  matter,  assemble  fre- 


74  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

quently  and  take  their  physical  exercise  under  able 
leaders.  In  this  way  the  years  pass,  and  the  youth  are 
ready  for  the  folk  high  schools. 

The  Folk  High  Schools  and  the  Culture  Period.  — 
The  folk  high  schools  are  essentially  schools  for  mature 
young  people.  The  Danes  speak  of  them  as  schools 
for  "  grown-ups,"  and  the  term  is  appropriate,  since  one 
finds  there  students  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  and 
even  older.  The  schools  are  not  high  schools  in  the 
American  sense  of  that  term,  nor  are  they  "  poor  men's 
universities,"  as  some  writers  have  denominated  them, 
for  the  students,  while  mainly  from  farming  communities, 
come  from  every  walk  in  life  and  from  the  homes  of  the 
well-to-do  and  the  poor  alike.  In  general,  they  are 
schools  for  mature  young  people,  whose  main  object  is 
development  of  personal  character  rather  than  the 
giving  of  specialized  instruction.  To  these  schools  come 
the  young  people  after  a  period  of  rest  from  intellectual 
labor,  strong  in  body,  full  of  hope,  and  eager  to  learn. 
They  are  zealous  to  realize  the  best  in  life  —  to  know 
themselves  and  the  purpose  of  life.  To  be  more  specific, 
the  aims  of  the  schools  are : 

(i)  To    make    a    broad-minded,    moral    citizenship; 

(2)  to  foster  a  deep-seated  love  of  the  soil  and  native  land ; 

(3)  to  give  a  correct  outlook  on  agricultural  life ;   (4)  to 
free  the  people  from  class  domination  and  show  them  how 
best  to  utilize  their  growing  political  power :   (5)  to  lay 


SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION   IN   GENERAL   OUTLINE        75 

a  broad  cultural  foundation  for  the  technical  subjects  to 
be  pursued  in  the  local  agricultural  schools ;  and  (6)  to 
prepare  the  young  people  to  face  intelligently  the  great 
struggle  for  existence  that  presses  hard  on  all  alike  in  the 
older  European  countries. 

Very  few  of  the  schools  are  coeducational.  The  schools 
for  young  men  are  in  session  for  five  or  six  months, 
usually  beginning  with  November.  The  young  women 
then  attend  the  same  schools  from  three  to  five  months 
during  the  summer  season.  The  work  is  based  upon 
lectures  rather  than  textbooks.  The  success  of  the  school 
is  therefore  dependent  upon  the  ability  of  the  teachers  to 
inspire  and  instruct ;  and  this  calls  for  carefully  trained 
teachers. 

The  Local  Agricultural  and  Household  Economics 
Schools  and  Scientific  Training.  —  The  young  people 
spend  one,  two,  or  even  more  terms  at  one  or  another  of 
the  local  agricultural  schools  or,  in  the  case  of  young 
women,  the  rural  schools  of  household  economics. 

Young  men  who  have  had  practical  experience  in  farm 
pursuits  before  entering  the  folk  high  school  usually  go 
immediately  from  the  latter  to  one  of  the  agricultural 
schools,  of  which  there  are  twenty-nine  scattered  over 
the  country.  In  case  such  practical  training  is  lacking, 
it  must  be  secured  at  one  of  the  Government-recognized 
model  farms  before  they  can  matriculate  at  the  agricul- 
tural schools.  These  latter  teach  primarily  the  theory 


76  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  agriculture,  land  surveying,  agricultural  chemistry, 
and  the  other  sciences  which  underlie  the  practice  of 
agriculture.  Since  the  students  are  already  what  might 
be  called  practical  farmers,  the  aim  of  the  agricultural 
schools  is  "to  connect  the  principles  of  agricultural 
science  with  practical  facts  and  to  render  their  daily 
work  more  attractive  to  them  than  before  by  trans- 
forming their  '  knowing  how  '  into  '  understanding 
why.'  " 

Strong  schools  of  household  economics,  located  in  the 
open  country,  furnish  young  women  a  counterpart  of 
what  the  agricultural  schools  are  doing  for  the  young 
men.  It  is  conceded  that  the  women  who  are  destined 
to  become  helpmeets  for  the  scientific  young  farmers 
must  themselves  understand  how  to  manage  the  farm 
households  economically  and  scientifically.  Such  de- 
mands the  schools  strive  to  supply.  The  folk  high 
schools  have  long  taught  these  subjects  as  incidental  to 
genuine  farm  culture,  and  particularly  have  they  laid 
great  stress  upon  needlework  and  embroidery.  But 
the  new  schools  of  household  economics  address  them- 
selves exclusively  to  the  science  of  housewifery. 

Special  Schools  for  Smallhold  Farmers.  —  Peculiar 
schools  organized  particularly  for  the  smallhold  farmers 
are  the  so-called  Husmandsskoler.  These  combine  the 
most  valuable  features  of  the  folk  high  schools  with 
those  of  the  agricultural  schools  and  make  a  strong 


SYSTEM   OF   EDUCATION   IN   GENERAL   OUTLINE       77 

point  of  short  courses  for  smallholders  of  any  age  or 
preparation,  no  matter  how  old  or  how  poorly  prepared. 
The  side  lines  of  agriculture  —  such  as  bee  culture, 
chicken  raising,  rabbit  breeding  —  receive  much  atten- 
tion. Indeed,  any  smallholder  with  a  problem,  it 
matters  not  what,  may  enter  these  schools  and  obtain 
the  desired  assistance. 

Young  men  who  desire  to  join  the  large  class  of  Govern- 
ment experts  in  dairying,  swine  culture,  and  like  occupa- 
tion, may  procure  their  final  preparation  by  spending 
one  or  more  years  in  study  and  experimentation  at  the 
Royal  Veterinary  and  Agricultural  Institute  located  in 
Copenhagen. 

The  most  important  task  performed  by  educationists 
in  Denmark  has  been  to  impart  a  remarkably  large  store 
of  culture  without  giving  the  people  a  contempt  for 
work  with  the  hands.  The  system  outlined  above  has 
done  much  to  ennoble  manual  work  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people  and  to  heighten  their  ability  to  do  the  work. 


A.  THE  ELEMENTARY  RURAL  SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER  VI 

THEIR  ORGANIZATION,  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  MAIN- 
TENANCE 

History  of    the    Elementary  Rural    Schools.  —  The 

common  people  of  Denmark  had  only  the  most  meager 
opportunities  for  schooling  prior  to  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  the  great  "  pietistic  "  reform  movement 
forced  the  organization  of  a  free  public  school  system. 
At  that  time,  it  has  been  estimated,  80  per  cent  of  all  the 
people  living  in  the  country  and  40  per  cent  of  those 
living  in  town  could  neither  read  nor  write.  Now,  on 
the  other  hand,  less  than  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent 
of  all  the  people  are  illiterate.  The  year  1739  marked 
the  first  definite  steps  in  public  school  organization. 
In  accordance  with  Royal  promulgation  of  that  year 
schools  were  to  be  opened  in  every  commune,  and  parents 
and  legal  guardians  were  admonished  to  send  the  children 
to  the  schools.  King  Frederik  IV  erected  some  two 
hundred  and  forty  schools  for  this  purpose ;  but  trained 
teachers  were  scarce  and  times  were  hard  so  that  much 
less  came  out  of  the  law  than  had  been  hoped. 

78 


THEIR    ORGANIZATION   AND   ADMINISTRATION          79 

The  first  real  advance  in  educational  affairs  came 
through  the  Ordinance  of  1814,  which  immediately  raised 
Denmark  as  a  model  among  European  nations  in  educa- 
tional affairs.  The  new  law  made  school  attendance 
compulsory  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen  and 
enforced  attendance  through  a  system  of  fines.  Definite 
salaries  and  pensions  were  provided.  Steps  were  taken  to 
give  the  teachers  a  reasonable  professional  training,  and 
these,  in  turn,  became  assured  of  permanent  "  calls  "  to 
long-tenure  positions.  The  schools  were  maintained  en- 
tirely by  the  local  communes.  Instruction  was  obliga- 
tory in  the  religious  subjects — Bible,  Bible  history,  cate- 
chism, and  religious  hymns  —  in  reading,  writing,  arith- 
metic, singing,  and  gymnastics  (for  boys). 

The  supervision  of  the  schools  was  ineffective  until 
after  1848,  when  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Ecclesias- 
tical Affairs  became  the  central  authority  in  all  educa- 
tional affairs.  In  1856  a  new  law  was  passed  under 
which  the  state  began  to  defray  a  part  of  the  school 
expenses,  such  as  salary  increases  and  direct  aid  to  weak 
communes.  In  1899  teachers'  salaries  were  materially 
increased  and  teacher  training  greatly  improved.  The 
inner  management  of  the  schools  and  course  of  study 
were  also  bettered.  In  1908  still  another  new  salary 
law  went  into  effect.  This  was  so  liberal  as  to  make  the 
position  of  rural  teacher  very  attractive  and  sought  after. 
In  most  particulars  the  management  of  the  elementary 


8o 


RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 


schools  is  left  to  the  local  communes  under  state  super- 
vision. 

The  following  table  gives  numbers  of  children  of  school 
age,  school  enrollment  in  public  and  private  schools,  and 
number  and  sex  of  teachers..  It  is  compiled  from  the 
latest  official  data,  January  i,  1911 : 

TABLE  I 


IN  RURAL  SCHOOLS  ONLY,  1910 

Public  schools    

23O.3<?6 

Children  of  school 

Other  schools     

IO  IOI 

age  accredited 

Instructed  at  home  (tutors,  etc.)  . 

2,O2O 

to  the  follow- 

Not stated     

S8o 

ing  schools 

Abnormal,  sick,  etc  

.            432 

Total      

261.118 

Public  schools    

24.2  2OI 

Children  actually 

Private  schools,  etc  

l8  4.<X 

enrolled  in   the 

Abnormal,  sick,  etc  

AC2 

schools 

Of  school  age  not  in  school  

Total      

261  "u8 

Number  of 

Public  schools     

3.22? 

schools 

Private  and  other  schools     

AA.1 

Total      

<Htj 
3.668 

Teachers  in 

Men      

2,820 

public  schools  * 

I,<2* 

Total      

e,2C2 

It  will  appear  from  the  table  that  both  public  and 
private  schools  are  maintained  in  rural  communities, 

1  In  addition  to  these  there  are  about  700  teachers  in  private  elementary 
schools  in  rural  districts. 


THEIR   ORGANIZATION   AND   ADMINISTRATION         8 1 

although  the  latter  are  found  only  in  comparatively 
small  numbers.  The  private  schools  are  state  supervised 
and  must  maintain  certain  required  standards  of  work. 
Of  all  the  children  of  school  age  only  three  hundred  and 
seventy,  or  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent,  failed  to  attend 
school  during  the  year.  The  number  of  men  teachers  is 
much  larger  than  that  of  the  women  teachers,  although 
the  number  of  the  latter  has  been  on  the  rapid  increase 
the  last  few  years.  This  has  not  been  at  the  expense 
of  the  men  teachers  who,  by  actual  numerical  count,  are 
on  the  increase.  The  explanation  lies  in  the  large 
number  of  primary  schools  (Forskoler)  that  are  being 
established,  requiring  the  services  of  women  teachers. 

Compulsory  education  ends  with  the  close  of  the  ele- 
mentary school  as  does  also  free  instruction.  In  the 
rural  districts  several  kinds  of  private  continuation 
schools  flourish.  In  effect  they  are  "  free "  schools, 
since  the  Government  gives  the  schools  liberal  aid  and 
even  subsidizes  worthy  students.  Night  schools  are 
maintained  (1911)  in  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  rural 
communities  for  pupils  who  have  completed  the  ele- 
mentary schools,  but  cannot  afford  to  attend  the  regular 
farmers'  continuation  schools  —  the  folk  high  schools, 
local  agricultural  schools,  and  schools  of  household 
economics. 

Rural  children  who  may  desire  an  education  other 
than  for  farm  life  usually  enter  the  Middle  Schools  of 


82  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

the  incorporated  towns  immediately  upon  completing 
the  elementary  course.  There  they  may  continue  their 
study  through  the  Gymnasia  or  Real  Skoler  to  the 
National  University,  or  the  National  Polytechnic  In- 
stitute. Or  they  may  earlier  branch  off  into  the  various 
technical  schools,  trade  schools,  schools  of  navigation, 
and  schools  of  similar  nature. 

Ministry  of  Education  and  Ecclesiastical  Affairs  the 
Head  of  the  National  School  System.  —  Since  1848  the 
administration  of  public  education  has  been  vested  in  the 
Ministry  of  Education.  This  department  issues  all 
necessary  administrative  circulars  and  bulletins  for  the 
direction  of  school  authorities,  including  general  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  schools.  The  authority  of  the 
Ministry  may  be  classified  as  direct  and  appellate. 
Certain  school  matters  must  be  decided  by  the  Ministry ; 
others  may  be  settled  by  it  on  appeal  from  lower  author- 
ity. Under  the  former  head  the  Ministry  has  sole 
authority  in  all  questions  of  teachers'  salaries,  pensions, 
and  increases  (except  as  limited  by  law),  and  hi  the  en- 
forcement of  courses  of  study  together  with  changes  in 
same.  Likewise  ministerial  sanction  must  be  obtained 
before  new  schools  are  established,  although  the  com- 
munal authorities  may  be  a  unit  in  favor  of  the  proposed 
schools. 

In  a  general  way  these  are  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
Ministry  of  Education:  to  interpret  and  enforce  all 


THEIR   ORGANIZATION   AND   ADMINISTRATION         83 

educational  codes  passed  by  the  National  Rigsdag;  to 
prescribe  rules  and  regulations  for  the  schools ;  to  decide 
questions  of  difference  which  may  rise  in  lower  administra- 
tive circles ;  and  to  recommend  needed  school  legislation. 

The  Ministry  of  Education  has  in  its  employ  a  national 
"  konsulent  "  or  educational  specialist  who  gives  advice 
on  legal  questions  coming  up  for  decision.  He  may  also 
propose  improvements  and  alterations  in  the  school 
system.  Other  educational  specialists  attached  to  the 
Ministry,  who  give  it  expert  advice  in  addition  to  having 
the  national  supervision  hi  their  several  departments, 
are  general  inspectors  of  music,  gymnastics,  sloyd,  and 
drawing. 

In  this  way  enough  of  the  administrative  machinery  is 
centered  in  the  general  government  to  assure  uniformity 
in  educational  effort. 

The  Church  in  School  Administration.  —  From  times 
immemorial,  almost,  bishops,  deans,  and  local  ministers 
have  had  active  part  in  school  administration.  These 
men  have  naturally  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in 
school  affairs  because  they  were,  then  as  now,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  best-equipped  men  in  their  respective 
districts  for  just  such  work. 

The  bishops  were  expected,  under  the  Law  of  1814,  to 
have  close  supervision  over  the  schools  within  their  re- 
spective bishoprics.  To  this  end  they  may  require 
regular  reports  from  the  deanery  boards  and  the  local 


84  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

boards  of  education.  In  the  olden  time  the  bishops  were 
accustomed  to  assemble  the  parish  children  at  the  church 
and  there  examine  them  "  in  Godly  and  worldly  learn- 
ing." Later  this  inspection  of  educational  matters  was 
transferred  to  the  school  building.  Of  recent  years  the 
bishops  have  become  satisfied  to  delegate  the  immediate 
school  inspection  to  the  deans  and  local  ministers,  while 
they  still  require  regular  reports  from  the  several  school 
boards. 

An  Interrelated  System  of  School  Directories  and 
School  Boards.  —  The  schools  are  administered,  for  con- 
venience, with  the  various  political  and  religious  units 
as  bases.  In  this  way  each  of  the  nineteen  amts  or  mu- 
nicipal subdivisions  has  its  amt  school  directory.  Each 
of  the  seventy-three  deaneries  has  its  deanery  board 
of  education.  Finally,  each  of  the  eleven  hundred  and 
thirty-four  country  communes  or  parishes  has  its  own 
school  commission  working  under  the  direction  of  the 
parish  council. 

The  Amt  School  Directory  is  a  superior  body  com- 
prising representatives  from  each  of  the  deanery  direc- 
tories or  boards  of  education  within  the  amt.  Its  chief 
function  is  to  administer  the  school  funds  of  the  amt  and 
certain  other  matters  dealing  with  school  maintenance 
which  cannot  wisely  be  intrusted  to  minor  boards. 
Even  this  directory  is  not  given  free  hands  to  administer 
the  funds  as  it  might  deem  best.  Every  amt  school 


THEIR   ORGANIZATION   AND  ADMINISTRATION         85 

directory  is  held  in  check  and  assisted  in  its  tasks  by 
an  amt  school  council,  which  draws  its  membership  from 
the  regularly  constituted  municipal  council.  This  ar- 
rangement gives  assurance  that  the  school  funds  will 
be  administered  according  to  practical  business  prin- 
ciples, since  these  two  boards  are  pretty  sure  to  have  in 
their  membership  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  mu- 
nicipality. 

The  Deanery  School  Directory  or  Board  of  Education 
is  the  most  important  link  between  the  Ministry  of  Edu- 
cation and  the  local  communal  boards.  The  latter  can 
reach  the  Ministry  through  the  deanery  board  only, 
while  the  Ministry  in  its  turn  administers  all  local  affairs 
through  the  medium  of  the  deanery  board.  The  man- 
agement of  many  matters  of  local  concern  is  delegated 
to  the  final  decision  of  the  deanery  board  by  ministerial 
decree  or  even  by  law.  The  supervision  of  the  schools 
is  one  of  the  board's  most  important  duties.  Though, 
in  practice,  the  dean  alone  visits  the  schools,  he  is  obliged 
to  make  full  reports  to  the  Ministry  of  Education,  from 
time  to  tune,  on  blanks  furnished  for  that  purpose.  The 
deanery  board  as  a  whole  must  finally  file  with  the  Min- 
istry an  annual  report  of  school  matters  within  the 
deanery,  together  with  recommendations  and  suggestions 
for  educational  improvement. 

The  Communal  or  Parish  School  Commission  has  the 
practical  administration  of  all  the  schools  within  the 


86  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

parish.  The  commission  comprises  the  parish  pastor 
and  members  chosen  from  the  parish  council.  The  local 
pastor  is  charged  especially  with  school  supervision.  In 
matters  concerning  financial  expenditure  the  school 
commission  becomes  subordinated  to  the  parish  council, 
which  in  such  matters  has  the  final  word. 

All  the  school  directories  and  commissions  are  inter- 
related to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  their  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities are  divided  so  as  to  secure  the  best  results 
in  school  administration.  By  way  of  illustration, 
matters  of  school  maintenance  are  mainly  in  the  charge 
of  the  large  amt  school  directories ;  but  these  are  ame- 
nable to  suggestions  from  the  deanery  directories  and 
requests  from  the  local  parish  councils  and  school  com- 
missions. In  extreme  cases  they  may  even  be  regulated 
by  the  Ministry  of  Education.  School  supervision  is 
governed  in  much  the  same  way. 

The  Ministry  supervises  the  schools  through  its  ed- 
ucational specialists ;  the  bishops  supervise  the  schools 
within  the  bishopric  occasionally  in  person,  though  gen- 
erally through  subordinates;  the  dean  is  charged  with 
visitation  and  school  inspection  of  all  deanery  schools; 
and,  finally,  the  local  school  commission,  headed  by 
the  local  pastor,  supervises  the  two  or  more  parish 
schools. 

How  the  Elementary  Schools  are  Maintained.  —  The 
Danish  system  of  taxation  for  school  purposes  is  based 


87 

on  the  principle  that  the  entire  people  is  vitally  interested 
in  the  education  of  every  individual  in  the  kingdom. 
Education  is  both  of  national  and  local  concern ;  there- 
fore, both  nation  and  local  community  must  bear  their 
proportionate  shares  of  the  cost.  As  the  result  of  a 
hundred  years  of  careful  effort  the  system  is  now  pretty 
well  balanced.  The  state  for  its  part  pays  sufficiently 
to  equalize  educational  advantages  throughout  the  na- 
tion, and  the  smaller  units  enough  to  keep  alive  and 
foster  local  interest  in  school  affairs  and  to  develop  the 
greatest  measure  of  local  independence  and  self-reliance. 
The  maintenance  of  the  rural  school  may  advantageously 
be  discussed  under  three  heads :  (i)  state  aid ;  (2)  per- 
manent funds ;  and  (3)  local  taxation. 

State  Aid  in  School  Maintenance.  —  The  general 
government  extends  financial  assistance  in  a  number  of 
ways  to  induce  to  greater  educational  effort  and  effi- 
ciency. The  aid  comes  to  the  community  as  reward  for 
good  work  already  begun  —  work  sometimes  voluntarily 
undertaken,  sometimes  under  the  compulsion  of  legal 
enactment. 

According  to  the  Ordinance  of  1908,  the  state  shall 
extend  annual  aid  to  districts  which  have  bonded  them- 
selves for  the  construction  of  new  buildings,  including 
gymnasiums  and  teachers'  homes,  or  which  have  re- 
modeled old  buildings,  in  compliance  with  law.  This 
aid  shall  in  no  case  exceed  four  hundred  and  fifty  kroner 


88  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

annually,  and  must  be  used  only  in  paying  interest  on 
and  reducing  the  face  of  the  indebtedness. 

By  all  odds  the  largest  state  aid  is  for  teachers'  sal- 
aries. As  was  stated  elsewhere,  the  general  Government 
obligates  itself  to  pay  all  the  increases  in  teachers'  sal- 
aries above  the  initial  salary  paid  by  the  communes. 

Furthermore,  one  half  of  the  entire  amount  paid  for 
old-age  pensions  comes  from  the  general  treasury.  The 
balance  comes  from  the  permanent  amt  fund. 

Considerable  sums  are  also  used  in  the  purchase  and 
maintenance  of  school  libraries  and  teachers'  libraries. 
The  evening  schools,  of  which  many  hundred  are  in 
operation  in  rural  communities,  too,  are  maintained 
through  Government  aid. 

Finally,  the  state  extends  direct  aid  to  needy  com- 
munes, and  even  refunds  one  half  of  the  total  amount 
that  the  permanent  amt  fund  may  annually  use  for 
needy  communes  within  the  amt.  Just  what  per  cent 
of  the  total  amount  of  school  maintenance  is  defrayed 
by  the  state  is  difficult  to  say,  as  there  are  no  statistics 
available,  but  it  is  very  considerable. 

Permanent  School  Funds.  —  As  early  as  1814  a  per- 
manent fund  was  organized,  the  chief  aim  of  which  was 
to  extend  aid  to  needy  teachers.  These  funds  came 
through  direct  amt  taxes,  through  assessments  on  the 
teachers,  and  in  large  part  from  the  sale  of  certain  school 
buildings  and  school  lands  which  were  no  longer  needed 


THEIR   ORGANIZATION   AND  ADMINISTRATION          89 

in  the  reorganized  school  system.  In  1856  the  teachers' 
aid  feature  was  abolished  and  teachers  were  no  longer 
expected  to  pay  their  quota  to  the  fund,  the  purpose 
being  to  aid  and  promote  education  within  the  amt. 
The  invested  moneys  now  have  their  source  in  the  sale 
of  certain  school  "  lots,"  fines,  and  direct  appropriations 
by  the  amt  council.  The  fund  is  administered  by  the 
amt  school  directory  in  conjunction  with  the  amt  school 
council,  which  draws  its  membership  from  the  regularly 
constituted  amt  council.  This  gives  assurance  of  able 
administration  of  the  funds. 

The  general  purpose  of  the  permanent  amt  fund  is  to 
equalize  educational  opportunities  within  the  amt  by 
tendering  aid  to  the  several  communes  according  to  need. 
In  addition,  all  state  aid  is  paid  directly  into  this  fund, 
and  from  it  to  the  several  school  districts. 

One  half  the  amount  of  the  old-age  pensions  within 
the  amts  is  defrayed  from  the  permanent  fund.  The 
pay  for  certain  provisional  teachers  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for  likewise  is  drawn  from  this  source.  In  addition 
to  all  this,  the  fund  may  aid  in  maintaining  schools  in 
household  economics  and  evening  schools,  if  there  are 
sufficient  funds  on  hand. 

Local  Taxation.  —  The  chief  source  of  school  mainte- 
nance is,  after  all,  from  local  taxation.  The  commune 
with  its  several  school  districts  is  the  basis.  This  would 
be  a  pretty  small  tax  unit,  and  scarcely  to  be  trusted  with 


90  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

such  important  legislation,  were  it  not  that  the  Com- 
munal Council  and  School  Commission  are  guided  pretty 
closely  by  the  Deanery  School  Directory  and  Ministry 
of  Education.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  national  and  amt  aid 
depend  almost  solely  upon  the  wisdom  shown  in  voting 
and  expending  local  funds.  And  any  attempt  at  unwise 
expenditure  would  immediately  be  checked  by  higher 
authority,  the  same  as  wise  and  liberal  expenditure  receives 
its  encouragement  and  reward  in  the  form  of  State  aid. 

The  commune  is  obligated  with  the  general  maintenance 
of  the  local  schools ,  such  as  erecting  the  necessary  build- 
ings and  keeping  them  in  repair,  furnishing  all  necessary 
school  furniture,  and  paying  the  original  salaries  of  per- 
manent teachers  and  regular  assistant  teachers. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THEIR  MANAGEMENT  AND  METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION 

School  Attendance.  —  This  is  compulsory  between  the 
ages  of  seven  and  fourteen.  Time  is  counted  from  the 
beginning  of  the  first  half  year  of  school  immediately 
after  the  child  has  completed  the  seventh  year  and  ends 
with  the  close  of  the  half  year  of  school  during  which  the 
child  has  completed  the  fourteenth  year.  Abnormal 
children  and  others  affected  with  infectious  disease  do 
not  come  under  this  ruling.  They  are  cared  for  in  sep- 
arate schools  governed  by  other  regulations.  Children 
may,  however,  be  received  in  the  schools  as  soon  as  they 
have  reached  the  age  of  six  years.  A  large  number  take 
advantage  of  this  concession. 

The  recent  increase  in  numbers  of  rural  children  of 
school  age  is  considerable  when  the  total  population  is 
taken  into  consideration.  The  annual  increase  is  ma- 
terially larger  than  in  Copenhagen  and  the  provincial 
towns.  The  numbers  of  school  age  for  1909,  1910,  and 
1911  were  respectively:  255,681,  258,888,  and  261,518. 
Table  II  gives  final  figures  for  the  school  year  ending 
January  i,  1910 : 

91 


92  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

TABLE  II 


SEX 

RURAL  CHILDREN  WHERE  INSTRUCTED 

OF  SCHOOL 
AGE  NOT 
IN  SCHOOL 

ABNORMAL, 
SICK,  ETC. 

General  Public 
Schools 

Other 
Public 
Schools 

Private 
Schools 

Home 
(Tutors  and 
Governesses) 

Boys 
Girls 
Total 

117,376 
"3.437 

3,174 
2,638 

9,908 
9,062 

970 

1,263 

316 
327 

225 
192 

230,813 

5,8l2 

18,970 

2,233 

643 

417 

A  glance  at  the  table  shows  that  a  large  majority  of 
the  children  of  school  age  are  in  school.  Only  six  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  children  were  unaccounted  for 
during  the  year.  Table  I,  giving  statistics  for  1911, 
makes  a  still  better  showing  with  only  three  hundred  and 
seventy  children  unaccounted  for.  A  large  majority 
are  in  the  public  schools.  Those  in  private  schools  are 
chiefly  children  of  the  country  gentry  who  have  not  yet 
overcome  their  prejudices  against  "  free  schools."  The 
several  thousand  instructed  at  home  are  children  of 
wealthy  parents,  some  of  them  of  the  old  nobility,  pre- 
paring for  admission  to  the  "  learned  schools  "  in  Copen- 
hagen. But  whether  instructed  at  home,  in  private  or 
public  schools,  such  instruction  is  enforced  during  the 
compulsory  period,  without  fear  or  favor,  upon  all  alike. 
All  children  must  be  able  to  show  certificate  of  successful 
vaccination  when  they  enroll  in  school. 

Enforcement  of  the  Compulsory  Attendance  Law.  - 
As  a  rule  the  Danish  people  are  so  imbued  with  the  value 


MANAGEMENT   AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION       93 

of  education  that  they  will  go  to  any  extremity  to  keep 
the  children  in  school.  Or  where  this  may  not  be  the  case 
the  wholesome  respect  for  law  will  hold  them  from  dis- 
obeying it.  The  few  who  persist  in  avoiding  their  legal 
responsibilities  are  punished  so  severely  that  they  are,  as 
a  rule,  glad  enough  to  change  their  ways. 

The  head  teacher  in  every  rural  school  is  charged 
with  the  task  of  keeping  a  complete  record  of  all  the 
children  of  school  age  within  the  district.  This  other- 
wise arduous  duty  is  simplified  by  a  requirement  of  law 
that  parents  and  guardians  must  give  notice  to  the  parish 
council  one  week  before  they  intend  to  withdraw  their 
children  from  school  when  moving  away  from  the  parish. 
The  same  kind  of  notice  must  be  given  the  authorities 
of  the  parish  to  which  the  family  moves,  in  order  that 
the  children  may  be  properly  recorded  and  no  time  lost. 
Children  are  kept  on  the  records  of  the  school  from  which 
they  have  moved  until  the  teacher  is  notified,  in  writing, 
by  the  teacher  in  the  new  parish  that  these  children  are 
reenrolled  in  school.  This  method  of  tracing  children 
has  had  excellent  results. 

The  teacher  must  investigate  all  cases  of  absence  from 
school  and  decide  whether  they  were  "  without  legal 
reason."  Once  a  month  such  cases  are  reported  to  the 
parish  council,  who  may  make  further  investigation  as 
to  the  justness  of  the  charges.  They  shall  thereupon 
proceed  to  fine  the  parents  or  guardians  of  the  delin- 


94  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

quents,  unless  the  former  are  able  to  show  that  the 
children  in  question  are  habitual  truants  —  in  which 
case  the  children  themselves  are  taken  in  hand  by  the 
council.  The  fines  appear  small  as  compared  with 
American  money,  but  are  heavy  enough  for  the  classes 
in  Denmark  most  likely  to  err  in  school  matters.  Twelve 
ore  must  be  paid  for  each  day's  absence  during  a  first 
month  of  offense;  twenty-five  ore  for  each  day  during 
a  second  month ;  fifty  ore  for  each  day  during  a  third 
month,  and  one  krone  for  each  day  of  a  fourth  month 
—  and  this  with  the  further  provision  that  there  shall 
be  an  added  fine  of  twenty-five  ore  for  each  absence 
above  four  each  month,  provided  that  in  no  case  shall 
the  fine  exceed  one  krone  per  day.  If  necessary  the 
parish  council  may  have  recourse  to  the  processes  of 
law  to  collect  these  fines.  And  the  important  fact  is 
that  the  fines  are  collected. 

Length  of  School  Year.  —  According  to  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1904,  "  instruction  shall  be  given  in  town  and 
country  schools  during  at  least  forty-one  weeks."  As  a 
Danish  school  week  covers  six  days,  this  gives  a  minimum 
school  year  of  two  hundred  and  forty-six  days.  But  the 
law  is  not  interpreted  to  mean  that  all  the  children  or 
all  the  classes  must  be  in  attendance  all  the  time  during 
these  two  hundred  and  forty-six  days.  Actual  attend- 
ance becomes  a  matter  of  a  specific  number  of  sixty- 
minute  periods  spent  in  school  weekly.  On  this  point 


MANAGEMENT   AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION       95 


the  law  states  that  in  the  larger  towns  the  average 
minimum  amount  of  instruction  for  each  class  shall  be 
twenty-one  hours  and  in  rural  districts  eighteen  hours 
weekly.  This  does  not,  however,  include  gymnastics, 
sloyd,  handwork,  drawing,  or  household  economics, 
which  would  increase  the  number  of  hours  very  ma- 
terially. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  rural  school 
classes  (or  groups)  in  the  most  important  subdivisions 
of  the  kingdom  which  fall  below  the  minimum  number 
of  school  days,  the  number  employing  more  than  two 
hundred  and  forty-six  days,  and  so  on. 

TABLE  III 


SUBDIVISION  01 
RURAL  DENMARK 

NUMBER  OF  CLASSES  BELOW  AND  ABOVE  THE  ANNUAL 
MINIMUM  NUMBER  OF  SCHOOL  DAYS 

GRAND 
TOTAL 

Below 
246 
Days 

Just 
246 
Days 

247-251 
Days 

452-257 
Days 

Above 
»S7 
Days 

Not 
Stated 

Zealand     .... 
Bornholm      .    .    . 
Lolland-Falster  .     . 
Fiinen  

13 
2 

3 
9 
63 

8 
128 

1246 

H 
260 
I78 
840 
824 

III2 

S2S 
112 

544 
43° 
429 
208 

450 
112 
96 
3U 
SI3 
317 
147 

57 

40 
8l 
48 
70 

9 

10 

375 

2300 
128 

471 

1085 
1927 
1636 
2040 

S.  E.  Jutland     .     . 
North  Jutland    .     . 
S.W.Jutland    .     . 
The  Islands  .    .    . 
Jutland     .... 
Total     .... 

27 
199 

1698 
2776 

1181 
1067 

972 

977 

97 
199 

9 

385 

3984 
5603 

226 

4474 

2248 

1949 

296 

394 

9537 

The  table  shows  that  forty-four  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  classes  attended  school  on  the  basis  of  the  legal 


96  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

minimum  of  two  hundred  and  forty-six  days  to  the  school 
year.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-six  classes  fell  below 
the  minimum  because  of  epidemics  or  sudden  illness  of 
teachers.  Forty-four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  classes 
attended  on  the  basis  of  more  than  two  hundred  and 
forty-six  days. 

How  the  School  Days  are  Divided.  —  As  stated  above, 
the  minimum  requirement  in  rural  schools  is  eighteen 
sixty-minute  periods  weekly  (not  counting  gymnastics, 
sloyd,  drawing,  handwork,  and  household  economics). 
Just  how  these  periods  are  to  be  got  in  for  the  various 
classes  is  left  to  the  teachers  and  the  local  school  com- 
mission to  decide.  And  this  decision  is  generally  gov- 
erned by  the  needs  and  conditions  in  the  community. 
Usually  the  older  children  spend  more  time  in  school 
during  the  winter  months  than  the  smaller  children,  with 
the  reverse  in  summer.  Some  schools  arrange  their 
programs  wholly  on  the  half -day  session  plan;  others 
give  a  certain  number  of  whole  days  (below  six)  to  each 
class;  others,  again,  have  both  half  and  whole  day 
sessions  for  the  different  classes.  This  variety  of  ar- 
rangement can  best  be  made  clear  through  illustra- 
tions. 

Vor  Frue  Landsogns  Skole  near  Odense  in  Fiinen  is 
organized  into  eight  grades,  and  these  grouped  into  six 
groups.  Grades  one,  two,  three,  four  are  separate 
groups ;  grades  five  and  six  form  group  five ;  and  grades 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS    OF    INSTRUCTION       97 

seven  and  eight,  group  six.  The  school  year  covers 
two  hundred  and  forty-six  days  only.  The  school  day 
begins  at  8.30  o'clock  during  winter  and  8  o'clock 
during  summer,  and  closes  at  3  o'clock,  although 
four  days  in  the  week  the  children  have  gymnastics 
and  domestic  science  from  u  to  12  or  3  to  4 
o'clock  accordingly  as  they  are  "  forenoon  "  or  "  after- 
noon "  pupils.  Groups  six,  five,  and  two  spend  their 
forenoons  only  hi  school,  and  groups  four,  three,  and  one 
are  in  school  afternoons  only.  This  arrangement  gives 
each  grade  four  hours  school  work  daily,  six  days  a  week. 
The  actual  amount  of  time  in  school  during  the  year  is 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-four  hours,  or  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  school  days  of  the  regulation  length  customary 
in  the  United  States.  There  are  three  teachers  in  the 
school.  During  the  forenoons  five  classes  are  in  school, 
an  arrangement  which  gives  two  teachers  two  each  and 
the  third  teacher  only  one.  These  teachers  do  not  keep 
the  same  room  or  classes  all  the  time,  but  change  from 
room  to  room  with  the  change  in  hours.  During  the 
afternoons  there  are  only  three  classes  in  school,  one  for 
each  teacher.  Considerable  home  study  is  required  of 
all  the  pupils,  so  that  the  four  periods  hi  school  can  be 
devoted  to  recitations  and  careful  assignments  for  the 
following  day's  work.  The  half-day  sessions  in  this 
school  certainly  have  many  points  in  their  favor :  (i) 
the  teacher  devotes  his  full  attention  to  not  more  than 


98  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

two  classes  during  the  half  day ;  (2)  the  pupils  are  wide- 
awake and  busily  at  work  all  the  time  both  by  reason  of 
the  shorter  time  and  the  continuous  personal  attention 
from  the  teacher ;  (3)  the  older  pupils  may  devote  a 
portion  of  the  afternoons  to  work  on  the  farm  —  an  item 
which  cannot  be  ignored  in  Danish  agricultural  economy 
at  least. 

Himmelev  Rural  School,  near  Roskilde  in  Zealand, 
affords  an  illustration  of  the  mixed  system  of  both  hah0 
and  whole  days.  This  is  a  well-organized  school  of  three 
teachers.  School  is  in  session  for  forty-three  weeks  out 
of  the  year,  or  during  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  days. 
The  only  time  the  school  is  at  rest  is  during  Christmas 
and  Easter  and  a  short  vacation  in  August.  The  idea 
prevails  that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  keep  the  children  in 
school  practically  all  the  year,  but  for  shorter  school 
days  than  is  the  custom  in  some  countries.  At  Him- 
melev the  older  pupils  attend  school  four  whole  days  and 
two  half  days  during  the  winter  half  year,  while  the  p1  upils 
in  the  four  lower  classes  are  in  school  three  whole  days 
and  two  half  days.  In  the  summer  time,  when  the  older 
children  are  needed  at  home,  this  arrangement  is  reversed. 
This  makes  an  average  of  four  and  one  half  days  a  week 
per  pupil,  or  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  and  five 
tenths  school  days  to  the  year. 

Ejby  Rural  School,  Ejby,  Fiinen,  may  be  used  as  a 
last  illustration.  Here,  also,  attendance  is  on  the  mixed 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION       99 


plan  of  half  and  whole  days,  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
days  of  the  year.     Table  IV  makes  this  plan  clear : 

TABLE  IV.    SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE  AT  EJBY 


CLASS 

HOURS  WEEKLY 

DAYS  WEEKLY 

SCHOOL 
MONTHS  OF 
20  DAYS 

EACH 

AVERAGE 
LENGTH  OF 
SCHOOL 
YEAR  m 
MONTHS 

Regular 

Gymnas- 
tics, etc. 

Half 

Whole 

iA    

18 
18 
18 

21 
24 
24 
27 

3° 

4 
2 
2 
2 
2 

6 
6 
6 
5 
4 
4 
3 

2 

I 

2 
2 

3 

4 

6.25 
6.25 
6.25 

8.66 
9.00 
9.00 

IO.OO 
II.OO 

8-33  + 

iB    

2         

6      

7 

It  must  be  understood  that  this  table  is  for  the  winter 
half  year  only.  In  summer  time  conditions  are  reversed. 
iA  —  the  primary  class  —  attends  six  half  days  only 
during  the  winter;  at  the  same  time  the  highest  class 
is  in  session  four  whole  and  two  half  days.  This  makes 
a  yearly  average  of  three  and  three  fourths  days  attended 
per  week  for  each  pupil  throughout  the  school  year.  On 
the  basis  of  twenty  school  days  to  the  month  the  average 
school  year  at  Ejby  would  be  eight  and  one  half  months. 

The  Course  of  Study.  —  The  law  requires  certain 
fundamental  subjects  to  be  taught  in  every  rural  school. 
The  list  includes  religion,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic, 
geography,  song,  drawing,  gymnastics  (for  boys),  and 
handwork.  Other  subjects  which  are  optional  with  the 


IOO 


RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 


school  commission  and  the  local  community  are :  nature 
study,  hygiene  and  sanitation,  sloyd,  household  eco- 
nomics, and  language  other  than  Danish. 

The  table  below  gives  the  number  of  rural  schools 
requiring  the  additional  subjects  and  also  extra  periods 
in  drawing : 

TABLE  V 


NUMBER  or  SCHOOLS  WITH  INSTRUCTION  IN  SUBJECTS  NOT 

REQUIRED  BY  LAW.  WITH  EXTRA  PERIODS,  ETC. 

RURAL  SCHOOLS 

g<4 
•~.*r 

8  A 

•o 

i 

| 

Natural  S( 
including  '. 
ture  Study 

German. 

J3 

.a 
~3> 

& 

J3 

B 

£ 
CK 

Other 
Languages 

Mathemat 
above  arit 
metic 

Hygiene  ai 
Sanitation 

Farm  Acce 
ing 

•o 
& 

c/5 

to 

1! 

o-S 

Adv.  grades  (5-8) 

196 

57 

61 

9 

4 

25 

99 

90 

II 

146 

Elementary  grades 

(I-A) 

7 

« 

« 

— 

— 

— 

10? 



^_ 

6 

Continuation  schools 

IS 

14 

IS 

5 

2 

13 

IS 

— 

2 

ii 

Total    

218 

74 

79 

14 

6 

38 

217 

QO 

13 

163 

Natural  science  with  special  reference  to  agriculture 
receives  more  and  more  emphasis.  Nature  study  is 
taught  informally  in  all  the  lower  classes  (Forskoler), 
although  not  as  a  separate  subject,  but  rather  as  a  leaven 
in  all  the  subjects.  German  and  English  are  prominent 
on  account  of  the  close  commercial  relations  with  these 
countries.  The  mathematics  of  Table  V  is  algebra  and 
geometry  as  applied  to  mensuration.  Hygiene  is  given 
in  the  primary  grades  through  informal  discussion. 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS    OF   INSTRUCTION     IOI 

This  is  found  in  most  of  the  schools.  Sloyd  is  not 
found  in  many  rural  schools,  although  it  is  on  the  in- 
crease. The  larger  towns  and  cities,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  far  ahead  of  the  rural  districts  in  this  respect. 

Class  Organization.  —  In  very  few  rural  schools  is  all 
the  teaching  left  to  one  teacher.  In  such  rare  cases  that 
teacher  must  be  a  man.  But,  as  a  rule,  the  district  has 
a  Forskole  or  school  for  primary  pupils,  in  charge  of  a 
woman  teacher.  This  is  often  entirely  separate  from  the 
regular  school,  in  its  own  building,  and  generally  more 
centrally  located,  because  of  more  recent  origin  than  the 
main  school. 

The  primary  schools  teach  reading,  writing,  arithmetic 
through  whole  numbers,  and  singing  of  children's  songs 
and  hymns.  Much  of  the  work  is  based  on  object  lessons. 
The  narrative  method  is  used  largely  in  teaching  the 
outlines  of  Bible  history,  Danish  history  and  mythology, 
geography,  and  natural  history  (nature  study).  Gym- 
nastics and  play,  especially  the  latter,  receive  much  atten- 
tion in  the  Forskole.  This  work  ends  with  the  fourth 
year. 

In  the  regular  one-teacher  districts  the  children  are 
under  the  care  of  the  man  teacher  from  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  school  year,  unless  the  district  offers  no  Forskole 
work  when,  of  course,  the  children  enter  the  regular  school 
from  the  first.  But  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  very 
many  of  the  Danish  rural  schools  are  regularly  graded 


102  RURAL   DENMARK  AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 

schools  of  two  or  more  teachers,  all  working  in  the  same 
building.  In  such  cases  there  are  no  separate  Forskoler. 

The  School  Subjects.  —  A  point  of  note  is  that  read- 
ing and  spelling  are  not  mechanized  and  treated  as  arts 
complete  and  separate.  They  are  taught  rather  as 
means  necessary  to  higher  educational  ends.  Spelling 
is  taught  as  a  part  of  the  reading  process.  Consequently 
separate  spelling  books  are  not  used. 

Under  the  experienced  teachers  usually  found  in  the 
schools,  the  mechanical  and  technical  phases  of  language, 
such  as  reading,  spelling,  and  grammar,  are  handled  in 
such  a  way  that  the  children  show  a  good  ability  to  apply 
the  language  of  the  classroom  to  the  language  of  the 
playground  and  the  home.  Danish  language  is  taught 
largely  through  "  doing  "  -  i.e.  through  composition 
and  dictation  exercises.  The  teacher  may  give  dictation 
from  some  simple  reader  or  classic.  This  is  studied  and 
analyzed,  and  rules  of  grammar  are  applied  as  needed. 
The  work  is  largely  of  an  inductive  nature. 

The  religious  subjects  —  such  as  Bible  history,  cate- 
chism, sacred  music  —  are  strongly  emphasized  in  all 
the  schools.  Bible  history  is  given  orally  in  the  lower 
grades  and  is  studied  from  textbooks  in  the  upper  grades. 
As  taught  it  furnishes  an  excellent  foundation  for  general 
history.  Catechism  is  taught  from  textbooks,  much  of 
it  verbatim. 

History  and  geography  hold  high  place  in  the  course 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION     103 

of  study.  All  school  work,  in  fact,  is  given  an  historic 
background.  History  study  is  not  limited  to  Denmark 
and  Scandinavia  alone.  It  is  true  Danish  history  receives 
special  emphasis,  but  the  course  is  rooted  intelligently  in 
the  general  history  of  all  Europe  and  the  Orient.  A 
certain  amount  of  church  history  is  taught  in  the  religion 
classes ;  this  supplements  the  work  in  the  history  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Scandinavian  mythology  is  studied  as 
one  of  the  history  foundations.  The  geography  classes 
devote  much  tune  to  the  Scandinavian  countries,  though 
the  course  covers  the  physical,  mathematical,  and  polit- 
ical history  of  the  entire  globe  in  a  reasonably  thorough 
manner.  The  methods  employed  in  teaching  history 
and  geography  do  not  seem  always  of  the  best.  In  a 
few  schools  too  much  of  the  old  memoriter  processes  pre- 
vail, and  some  of  the  teachers  are  inclined  to  lecture 
on  history  instead  of  teaching  it. 

Children  in  the  primary  grades  are  early  made  ac- 
quainted with  nature ;  in  part  through  stories  and  nar- 
ratives dealing  with  natural  history,  illustrated  by  means 
of  charts  and  colored  pictures,  and  in  part  through  a 
study  with  their  teachers  of  the  school  environment. 
The  upper  grades  get  a  pretty  thorough  course  in  nat- 
ural history,  or  biology,  covering  a  general  outline  of 
botany  and  zoology  and  ending  with  a  study  of  man,  and 
hygiene  and  sanitation.  The  amount  and  thoroughness 
of  the  work  varies  greatly  with  the  schools. 


104  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

Very  few  rural  schools  offer  courses  in  manual  training 
or  sloyd ;  but  indications  are  that  such  work  is  getting 
popular  in  the  larger  schools.  Some  of  the  night  schools 
do  good  work  in  sloyd.  The  village  and  city  schools 
have,  many  of  them,  excellent  courses  of  this  kind. 

Handwork,  such  as  sewing,  knitting,  darning,  and 
embroidery,  is  required  in  all  rural  schools  where  women 
teachers  are  employed.  In  some  of  the  one-teacher 
schools  with  men  teachers  in  charge,  the  wife  of  the 
teacher  gives  instruction  in  handwork,  for  which  she 
receives  a  little  pay. 

Singing  is  taught  in  all  rural  schools.  All  teachers 
must  be  able  to  instruct  in  music  whether  they  can  sing 
or  not.  The  teacher  almost  invariably  accompanies  the 
song  on  a  violin,  which  all  teachers  know  how  to  use. 
Patriotic  and  religious  songs,  folk  songs,  and  nature 
songs  are  sung  remarkably  well.  Even  part  songs  are 
common  in  many  schools. 

Drawing  is  popular  and  well  taught.  Accuracy  and 
neatness  are  watchwords  hi  the  drawing  classes.  Much 
the  same  can  be  said  for  the  writing  classes.  Here,  too, 
the  children  display  much  painstaking  care  and  neat- 
ness. It  is  true  the  writing  seemed  to  lack  somewhat 
in  rapidity.  Our  "  muscular  movements  "  in  writing 
have  little  or  no  hold  on  the  schools. 

Much  more  attention  is  paid  to  mental  arithmetic  than 
in  American  schools.  The  quickness  and  accuracy  dis- 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS    OF   INSTRUCTION     105 

played  by  the  younger  children  in  analyzing  mental 
problems  is  quite  remarkable.  Enough  of  plane  geom- 
etry is  included  in  the  highest  class  to  furnish  an  intelli- 
gent foundation  for  problems  in  mensuration. 

Gymnastics  is  compulsory  in  all  the  schools  for  boys. 
The  older  girls  generally  take  the  work  as  a  "  special  " 
after  regular  hours.  In  the  first  three  or  four  grades  the 
boys  and  girls  take  the  work  in  mixed  classes.  Later 
the  sexes  are  drilled  separately.  The  newer  rural  schools 
are  supplied  with  indoor  gymnasiums.  Where  these 
are  lacking,  a  suitable  plot  of  ground  must  be  prepared 
out  of  doors,  sanded,  and  supplied  with  suitable  apparatus. 
The  work  in  gymnastics  is  uniformly  good.  It  is  later 
taken  up  where  elementary  schools  have  dropped  it  and 
continued  in  the  various  folk  high  schools  and  local 
agricultural  schools. 

Methods  of  Instruction.  —  Danish  schools  depend 
more  upon  the  ability  of  the  teachers  and  less  upon  the 
textbooks  than  is  the  case  in  American  rural  schools. 
The  teachers  are  professionally  prepared  and  con- 
sequently know  how  to  draw  upon  their  broad  general 
reading  and  experience  for  much  of  the  classroom  ma- 
terials, instead  of  depending  upon  the  textbooks  to  fur- 
nish everything  required.  The  latter  are  mere  "  leading 
threads  "  in  the  school  work,  containing  only  the  funda- 
mental processes,  if  in  mathematics,  or  outline  studies, 
if  in  history  and  like  subjects.  The  teacher  supplies 


106  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

the  rest.  This  means  that  the  average  teacher  is  free 
from  too  much  enslavery  of  books  and  can  give  more  of 
himself  and  his  individualism  to  the  work.  Where  the 
books  do  not  furnish  everything,  both  teachers  and 
children  make  larger  use  of  the  constructive  and  inven- 
tive ingenuity.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  some 
of  the  Danish  textbooks  are  too  meager  and  are  of  rather 
poor  mechanical  construction.  In  the  hands  of  inex- 
perienced teachers  they  would  be  of  little  value. 

School  Work  as  observed  in  Some  of  the  Schools.  — 
It  is  thought  best  at  this  point  to  give  with  some  detail 
work  as  it  was  actually  observed  in  the  Danish  rural 
schools.  For  this  purpose,  the  brief  story  of  five  schools 
is  told.  These  are  not  selected  because  of  any  marked 
excellence  above  any  other  schools  visited,  but  are  taken 
as  the  first  five  schools  that  chanced  to  lie  in  the  path  of 
visitation. 

Ryslinge  Rural  School.  —  The  teacher  in  charge  of 
this  school  is  Mr.  P.  J.  Winther.  He  was  just  complet- 
ing the  thirteenth  year  in  the  district,  and  previously  he 
had  spent  nineteen  years  in  another  parish  before  coming 
to  Ryslinge.  The  school  lies  high  on  a  rise  of  land  from 
which  can  be  seen  miles  of  beautiful  South  Fiinen  land- 
scape. It  is  surrounded  with  garden  and  parking,  and 
at  one  side  and  at  the  front  with  well-sanded  play- 
grounds. The  whole  is  surrounded  by  well-kept  living 
hedge,  outside  of  which  forest  trees  are  planted.  Imme- 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION    'IOJ 

diately  beyond  the  school  lie  the  country  church  and 
the  manse  with  its  gardens  and  fields.  This  is  a  one- 
teacher  school,  having  a  Forskole  at  a  distance  of  one 
mile.  The  building  is  modern  and  well  built.  But  this 
will  be  dwelt  upon  later  in  this  book  and  may,  therefore, 
be  passed  by  here.  The  teacher  has  his  abode  in  the 
school  building.  The  main  classroom  is  well  lighted 
and  heated  by  a  jacketed  ventilating  stove.  There  is 
an  abundance  of  illustrative  materials  of  all  kinds,  such 
as  geographical  and  historical  maps ;  biological,  physio- 
logical, and  other  charts.  A  good  collection  of  physical 
apparatus  is  used  as  the  basis  for  simple  experiments 
in  natural  science.  A  small  chemical  cabinet  contains 
what  is  necessary  in  milk  testing,  working  with  soils 
and  the  like.  Good  geological  and  ethnological  collec- 
tions are  seen  neatly  arranged  in  cases  at  one  side  of  the 
room.  A  circulating  library  of  six  hundred  volumes  is 
available  for  the  children  and  their  parents.  The  deep 
windows  are  filled  with  house  plants  and  nature  study 
materials.  The  schoolroom  is,  in  short,  a  good  working 
laboratory  for  a  genuine  country  school. 

The  time  spent  at  Ryslinge  School  was  devoted  mainly 
to  a  study  of  classes  in  gymnastics.  The  gymnasium  is 
indoors.  It  is  a  model  for  simplicity  and  neatness,  being 
square,  having  a  good  floor,  and  being  equipped  with  all 
the  inexpensive  apparatus  required  in  the  Ling  system  of 
gymnastics.  Mixed  classes  of  boys  and  girls  from  eight 


I08  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

to  eleven  years  of  age  gave  an  interesting  exhibition  of 
their  everyday  work.  Before  this  began,  the  floor  was 
carefully  mopped  to  keep  down  the  dust.  Then  the 
windows  were  thrown  wide  open,  in  spite  of  the  chilling 
March  wind  blowing  out  of  doors.  All  the  children 
wore  slippers  on  the  feet  and  the  girls  had  short  skirts 
like  bloomers.  The  work  included  the  Ling  system  of 
"  setting  up  "  exercises,  marches,  the  use  of  the  Swedish 
wall  racks,  arm  beams,  horse  for  vaulting,  and  such 
gymnastics.  Boys  and  girls  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
the  work  entirely  unconscious  of  sex  differences.  Part 
of  the  exercises  were  accompanied  by  song  —  a  thing 
that  is  noticeable  even  in  the  gymnastics  of  the  higher 
continuation  schools.  It  is  a  common  thing,  for  example, 
to  hear  large  classes  of  husky  young  farmers  in  the  gym- 
nasium of  a  folk  high  school  burst  suddenly  into  a  rousing 
war  song  or  patriotic  lay.  At  this  particular  exercise 
the  song  suddenly  changed  in  time  and  the  march  re- 
solved itself  into  a  folk  dance.  This,  again,  changed  to 
play.  But  at  a  signal  from  the  teacher,  the  ranks  were 
immediately  reformed.  Three  quarters  of  an  hour  were 
occupied  with  exercises  of  similar  kind. 

Grades  five  and  six  were  called  upon  for  song.  Mr. 
Winther  directed  this  and  led  the  singers  upon  the  violin. 
First  scales  were  run  for  some  five  minutes.  In  the 
singing  that  followed  the  children  had  good  opportunities 
to  display  their  ability  to  read  music.  Several  national, 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS    OF   INSTRUCTION     IOQ 

folk,  and  religious  songs  were  sung.  What  appealed  to 
the  auditors  more  than  anything  else  was  that  every 
child  took  part.  This  is  a  test  of  thorough  handling  of 
the  class. 

Opportunity  was  also  given  to  examine  specimens 
of  writing  by  all  the  grades  and  original  compositions 
by  grades  six,  seven,  and  eight.  The  writing  was  ex- 
ceptionally neat  and  painstaking.  The  compositions 
showed  considerable  thought  and  knowledge  of  history, 
geography,  and  agriculture  —  these  being  the  most 
popular  themes  employed.  The  general  impression 
carried  away  from  this  school  was  that  Mr.  Winther 
fully  realized  the  needs  of  his  school  community  and  had 
shaped  his  school  work  accordingly.  He  presided  over 
a  school  thoroughly  organized,  well  disciplined,  and 
harmonious  with  country  life  needs. 

Vor  Frue  Landsogns  Skole.  —  This  school  has  been 
used  to  illustrate  other  points  in  this  book,  but  can  well 
be  discussed  a  little  further.  The  school  lies  just  beyond 
the  large  provincial  town  of  Odense  and  is  attended  by 
two  hundred  and  ten  children,  most  of  them  from  the 
homes  of  small  farmers,  country  artisans,  and  day  la- 
borers. It  is  in  a  sense  a  consolidated  school  with  three 
teachers  in  charge.  Because  the  school  uses  the  half- 
day  system  for  all  the  pupils  there  is  not  that  congestion 
which  would  otherwise  be  unavoidable  in  a  school  of 
more  than  two  hundred  and  only  three  teachers.  The 


110  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

school  building  is  modern  and  roomy.  Mr.  Hindse- 
Nielsen,  the  principal,  and  his  two  assistants  have  suites 
in  the  building. 

The  table  on  opposite  page  is  a  reproduction  of  the 
daily  program  of  six  groups  into  which  the  classes  are 
divided.  It  will  be  recalled  (page  96)  that  groups  one, 
two,  three,  and  four  correspond  to  years  one,  two,  three, 
and  four ;  but  that  group  five  comprises  years  five  and 
six;  and  that  group  six  comprises  years  seven  and 
eight. 

The  inspection  at  this  school  covered  classes  in  singing, 
arithmetic,  and  nature  study. 

The  singing  did  not  differ  much  from  what  had  been 
experienced  at  Ryslinge.  The  children  sang  from  notes, 
running  the  scale  remarkably  true.  They  kept  time  with 
their  arms  as  they  sang.  Songs  of  a  religious,  patriotic, 
and  folk-lore  nature  were  rendered  with  feeling  and  true- 
ness  to  note.  Some  of  the  part  songs  that  were  sung 
would  be  considered  difficult  for  children  of  equal  age  in 
good  city  schools  of  the  United  States. 

The  sixth  grade  gave  an  interesting  recitation  in 
mental  arithmetic,  about  one  half  of  the  period  for 
which  is  devoted  to  mental  drills.  The  following  com- 
mon and  decimal  fractions  were  placed  on  the  board,  one 
after  another,  by  the  teacher.  Hands  went  up  to  indi- 
cate that  answers  were  ready  almost  as  soon  as  the 
figures  were  completed.  A  careful  analysis  was  made 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION     III 


DAILY  PROGRAM 


GROUP 

HOURS 

MONDAY 

TUESDAY 

WEDNESDAY 

THURSDAY 

FRIDAY 

SATURDAY 

II 

8-9 

Danish 

History 
Geography 

Religion 
Arithmetic 

Geography 
STature 
study 

History 
Arithmetic 

Religion 
Writing 

9-10 

Arithmetic 

Danish 

Danish 

Danish 

Danish 

Danish 

IO-II 

Writing 
Song 

Arithmetic 
Mature 
study 

Writing 
Nature 
study 

Writing 
Danish 

Religion 
Song 

Story  hour 

ii-ij 

I 

13-1 

Religion 
Writing 

Danish 

Religion 
Writing 

Danish 

Religion 
Writing 

Danish 

1-2 

Danish 

Nature 
study 
Song 

Danish 

Arithmetic 

Arithmetic 
Nature 
study 

History 
Arithmetic 

2-3 

Arithmetic 

History 
Danish 

Story  hour 

Nature 
study 
Song 

Danish 

Writing 

Nature 
study 

V 

8-9 

•leading 

Religion 

Geography 

Religion 

Natural 
history 

Religion 

9-10 

Arithmetic 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Dictation 

IO-II 

Dictation 

Song 

Dictation 

Reading 

Reading 

History 

11-12 

Gymnastics  daily  for  seven  months 

in 

ia-i 

Arithmetic 

Writing 
Religion 

Writing 
Religion 

Arithmetic 

Arithmetic 

History 

1-2 

Reading 

Reading 

Reading 

Reading 

Reading 

Writing 

3-3 

Composi- 
tion 

Composi- 
tion 

Song 

Composi- 
tion 

Geography 

Reading 

3-4 

4-5 

Handwork  for  girls  four  hours  weekly 

5-6 

VI 

8-9 

Religion 

Geography 

Religion 

Literature 

Religion 

Natural 
history 

9-10 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Danish 

Arithmetic 

Literature 

Arithmetic 

IO-II 

Danish 

Danish 
Composi- 
tion 

Song 

Composi- 
tion 

History 

Literature 

11-12                                                Gymnastics  daily 

IV 

1  2-1 

Religion 
Writing 

Arithmetic 

Religion 

Arithmetic 

Reading 

Arithmetic 

x-2 

Reading 

Reading 

Dictation 
Composi- 
tion 

Reading 

Writing 

Reading 

2-3 

Dictation 

Dictation 

History 

Geography 

Song 

Dictation 

3~4 

4-5 

Handwork  for  girls  four  hours  weekly 

5-6 

1 

112  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  each  problem.     There  seemed  to  be  no  laggards  in 
the  class,  for  all  hands  invariably  went  up  : 


9§  -  7iV  Si    -  2tt 

31  X2|  7i    xit 

ii  +  if  13      •*-  3* 

i|  -s-  0.33  0.48  X  3i6s 

For  rapidity  and  accuracy  the  exercise  was  quite  remark- 
able. The  three  American  visitors  laid  some  claim  to 
ability  in  "  figuring,"  but  found  it  pretty  difficult  to  keep 
pace  with  these  sixth  grade  farm  children.  More  mental 
arithmetic  in  our  own  lower  schools  would  probably  be  a 
good  thing. 

The  nature  study  lesson  was  in  charge  of  the  primary 
teacher  —  a  woman  —  and  was  devoted  almost  wholly 
to  the  English  sparrow.  The  class  was  the  second  grade. 
Colored  charts,  last  year's  nests,  and  blackboard  draw- 
ings were  utilized  freely  in  the  discussion.  The  children 
displayed  considerable  knowledge  of  bird  lore  and  were 
given  opportunity  by  the  teacher  to  express  this  hi  their 
own  way.  It  became  clearly  manifest  before  the  period 
closed  that  this  young  woman  was  succeeding  in  creating 
a  love  for  nature  in  the  breasts  of  the  little  ones  who 
should  later  as  scientific  farmers  become  the  wardens 
of  this  nature  and  its  creations. 

Ejby  Rural  School.  —  This  is  a  consolidated  school, 
and  lies  in  the  open  country  between  the  old  hamlet  of 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION     113 


Ejby  and  a  new  railway  station  by  the  same  name.  The 
fine  brick  building  with  its  modern  classrooms  and  homes 
for  four  teachers  was  erected  in  1911  as  a  compromise 
after  several  years  of  pretty  lively  agitation. 

The  following  table  gives  the  subjects  of  instruction 
together  with  the  number  of  periods  weekly  hi  each  of 
the  eight  classes.  There  are  three  teachers  in  this 
school  : 

TABLE  VI.    CLASS  PROGRAM  AT  EJBY  RURAL  SCHOOL 


SUBJECTS 

CIA 

5SES 

lA 

iB 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Religion    

4/7 

4/7 

« 

•» 

» 

7 

i 

J 

Danish  language  and  lit- 
erature        
Writing     

6 
•t 

6 

2 

7 

2 

7 

2 

7 

2 

7 

i 

7 

i 

8 

i 

Arithmetic  and  farm  ac- 
counting      
Special  farm  problems 
Geography    , 

3 

3 

3 

2/2 

4 

I 

4 

2 

4 

2 

3 

i 

2 

3 

2 
2 

History     



. 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

Biology  and  agriculture 
Nature  study  and  sanita- 
tion   

I/a 

\h 

2/2 

I 

I 

2 

3 

4 

Song     

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

I 

I 

I 

i 

i 

Drawing   

2 

2 

Gymnastics   

I 

I 

I 





Gymnastics  (boys) 
Handwork  (girls)    .     .     . 

— 

I 
I 

I 
I 

I 
I 

I 
I 

Total      
Extra  gymnastics  (boys)  1 
Extra  gymnastics  (girls) 
Extra  handwork  (girls) 

18 

18 

18 

21 
2 
2 
2 

24 
2 

24 

2 

27 
2 

30 

2 

1  Hours  after  regular  school  hours ;  no  credits  given. 

i 


114  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

The  gymnastics  and  handwork  will  be  seen  to  fall 
partly  within  and  partly  outside  the  regular  daily  pro- 
gram. Gymnastics  is  given  in  mixed  classes  for  grades 
one  A,  one  B,  two,  and  three. 

The  inspection  here  included  classwork  in  natural 
history  and  advanced  arithmetic. 

The  natural  history  as  studied  in  Danish  schools 
is  really  elementary  biology.  It  includes  descriptive 
courses  in  zoology  and  botany,  devoting  considerable 
time  also  to  physiology.  The  class  at  Ejby  had  for  their 
lesson  the  general  topic,  "  mammalia "  and  dwelt 
particularly  on  the  domesticated  mammals,  making 
practical  applications  to  the  cow,  horse,  sheep,  and  like 
animals.  Danish  teachers  are  of  the  opinion  that  nature 
study  (love  for  nature),  natural  history  (acquaintance 
with  nature),  and  agriculture  (application  of  both  love 
and  knowledge  of  nature)  can  all  be  acquired  in  the  rural 
schools  —  that  practical  agriculture,  however,  should  be 
studied  in  the  continuation  schools  after  leaving  the 
elementary  school. 

The  class  in  advanced  arithmetic  was  engaged  in 
working  out  practical  original  problems  in  mensuration. 
Enough  of  plane  geometry  was  used  to  make  the  rules 
of  measurement  intelligible.  One  half  of  the  class  was 
occupied  with  finding  the  contents  of  a  seven-sided  field, 
the  actual  dimensions  of  which  they  had  from  their  own 
measurement  of  the  field ;  the  rest  were  calculating  the 


MANAGEMENT   AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION     115 

water  surface  of  a  pond  lying  at  some  distance  from  the 
school.  All  this  work  was  practical  and  far  superior  to 
what  was  observed  in  a  number  of  other  schools,  some  of 
which  adhered  too  closely  to  the  textbook. 

Hjortespring  Rural  School.  —  The  last  school  to  be 
mentioned  is  a  one-teacher  school  near  the  village  of 
Herlov  in  Zealand.  Mr.  Johan  Egeberg,  the  teacher, 
had  been  in  the  school  seven  years,  coming  to  the  com- 
munity from  a  school  tenure  elsewhere  of  nineteen  years. 
His  position  was  found  to  be  that  of  unquestioned 
leadership  among  the  intelligent  people  where  he  lived. 
His  school  building,  too,  was  modern,  and  beautifully 
set  on  a  ridge  surrounded  by  living  hedge,  trees,  and 
shrubbery. 

The  comments  on  the  school  work  at  Hjortespring  are 
given  as  a  summary  rather  than  as  the  result  of  observa- 
tion of  single  classes,  because  more  time  was  spent  here 
than  in  most  of  the  other  schools. 

Reading  and  Language.  —  Reading  as  a  fundamental 
art  is  strongly  emphasized.  A  combination  of  several 
methods  is  used  in  teaching  the  younger  children  to  read. 
Spelling  is  from  the  first  a  part  of  the  reading.  It  is  not 
considered  an  end  in  itself ;  hence,  no  separate  textbooks 
need  be  used.  All  the  spelling  grows  out  of  the  reading. 
The  reading  books  are  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  they 
can  be  used  as  language  books  also.  The  mother  tongue 
is  learned  inductively  through  the  reading  and  the  ex- 


Il6  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

planations  offered  by  the  teacher.  Very  early  the 
children  are  taught  to  copy  small  portions  of  reading 
matter  from  the  reading-language  book  on  paper  or  on 
their  slates.  This  is  analyzed  and  explained  by  the 
children  with  the  teacher's  assistance.  Next  follow 
dictation  exercises  by  the  teacher.  The  children  are 
expected  to  write  down  correctly  what  is  given,  emphasiz- 
ing properly  sentence  structure,  punctuation,  capitali- 
zation, and  like  points  of  form.  Rules  are  laid  down 
for  convenience,  not  before  they  are  needed.  By  the 
time  the  children  reach  the  eighth  grade  they  have  a 
good  understanding  of  language  usages  without  having 
used  a  specially  prepared  book.  Now  a  compendium  in 
grammar  is  used  in  order  finally  to  clarify  and  sum- 
marize what  has  been  learned. 

Arithmetic.  —  The  textbook  contains  the  essentials 
only;  the  teacher  supplies  the  rest.  The  thoroughness 
with  which  the  four  elementary  processes  are  learned  is 
striking.  Rules  play  a  very  minor  part.  The  children 
learn  by  doing.  Mental  arithmetic  is  popular  and  well 
taught.  The  textbooks  contain  considerable  material 
with  a  farm  "  flavor."  Farm  accounting  and  farm 
problems  comprise  a  big  part  of  the  subject  matter  in  the 
books. 

Geography.  —  A  small  textbook  and  a  large  separate 
Atlas  are  used.  The  historical  and  political  elements  are 
prominent;  though  most  of  all  the  commercial  and 


MANAGEMENT  AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION     117 

agricultural  phases  are  emphasized.     History  and  geog- 
raphy are  taught  as  inseparable. 

History.  —  The  children  get  a  large  vision  of  the 
historic  field  before  leaving  school.  To  begin  with,  they 
are  taught  the  history  of  Denmark,  and  this  is  insepara- 
bly connected  with  the  history  of  Norway  and  Sweden 
—  thus  giving  them  in  reality  the  history  of  the  North. 
It  is  also  to  a  large  degree  rooted  to  England,  Holland, 
Germany,  and  Russia,  so  that  much  of  general  history 
creeps  in.  All  the  children  are  taught  Bible  history. 
This  is  a  simple  narrative  of  Bible  events  from  Hebrew 
and  Oriental  history.  In  addition,  the  highest  class 
gets  a  simple  outline  of  Church  history.  So,  taken  all 
together,  these  history  courses  furnish  the  children  a 
good  historical  horizon. 

Natural  history  and  nature  study,  music,  gymnastics, 
hygiene  and  sanitation,  and  handwork  (the  last  in 
charge  of  Mrs.  Egeberg),  are  uniformly  well  taught,  not 
differing  materially  from  what  had  been  seen  in  the 
schools  already  described.  These  may,  therefore,  be 
passed  by  at  this  time. 


CHAPTER  VIII      , 
THEIR  BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS 

Schoolhouse  Construction.  —  The  construction  of  all 
new  school  buildings  and  the  modification  of  all  old 
structures  must  be  done  in  accordance  with  a  circular 
issued  by  the  Ministry  of  Education.  Such  important 
matters  are  not  left  entirely  with  the  local  commune 
and  school  board.  And  wisely  are  they  not  so  left,  for  if 
they  were  the  best  interests  of  the  school  district  would 
often  be  made  to  suffer  from  the  selfishness  and  close- 
fistedness  of  a  few  influential  individuals.  As  matters 
now  stand,  all  building  construction  must  comply  with 
Ministerial  regulation.  The  final  plans  and  specifica- 
tions —  whether  for  a  new  building  or  for  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  an  old  one  —  must  be  inspected  and  ratified  by  the 
large  deanery  school  directory  before  the  local  authori- 
ties can  proceed  to  build.  In  specific  cases  the  local 
board  may  appeal  to  the  Ministry  of  Education  for  final 
decision  on  points  in  controversy. 

According  to  the  circular  of  1900,  the  building  site 
must  be  large,  sightly,  and  sanitary.  Each  classroom 
must  be  large,  well  lighted,  and  ventilated.  The  ceiling 

118 


THEIR  BUILDINGS   AND  GROUNDS  lip 

must  be  at  a  height  of  not  less  than  ten  feet.  School- 
rooms in  Forskoler  and  the  regular  elementary  schools 
must  contain  a  minimum  air  space  of  four  thousand  and 
five  thousand  cubic  feet  respectively.  This  is  figured 
on  the  basis  of  a  maximum  of  thirty-five  pupils  to 
the  room.  Each  room  shall  have  at  least  a  ventilator 
shaft  connected  with  a  jacketed  stove  as  means  of 
ventilation.  Many  are  supplied  with  racks  and  lockers, 
with  at  least  three  square  feet  of  floor  space  for  each 
child. 

Wherever  practicable,  new  school  buildings  are  to 
contain  indoor  gymnasiums,  and  equip  them  with  all  the 
apparatus  required  for  the  Ling  system  of  gymnastics. 
When  this  cannot  be  done  for  good  reason,  as  in  the  case 
of  buildings  constructed  before  such  requirements  were 
made,  an  outdoor  gymnasium  must  be  constructed  to 
answer  this  need.  This  shall  be  laid  off  as  near  the 
school  building  as  possible  and  is  to  contain  at  least  six 
hundred  and  twenty-five  square  meters.  The  place 
must  be  reduced  to  a  water  level,  properly  drained  and 
covered  with  several  inches  of  screened  sand.  Perma- 
nent apparatus  is  to  be  erected  on  the  ground,  and  such 
apparatus  as  cannot  be  exposed  to  the  weather  may  be 
kept  in  a  storeroom  erected  for  that  purpose,  on  the 
edge  of  the  ground. 

Rules  Governing  Schoolhouse  Sanitation.  —  The  rules 
governing  the  cleansing  of  schoolrooms  are  very  per- 


120  RURAL  DENNARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

tinent  and  suggestive.     These  are,  therefore,  given  in 
some  detail : 

1.  The  floors  must  be  kept  perfectly  tight  and  filled, 
varnished,  painted  or  covered  with  linoleum,  or  otherwise 
protected  from  dampness. 

2.  The  classrooms  must  be  aired  frequently  —  both 
before  the  session  begins  and  during  all  intermissions. 

3.  All  school  furniture  and  walls  must  be  wiped  with  a 
damp  cloth  daily.    All  window  panes  must  be  polished 
at  least  once  a  week. 

4.  The  floors  must  be  washed  daily,  and  scrubbed  once 
a  week  with  soap  and  warm  water. 

5.  The  water-closets  must  be  kept  scrupulously  clean 
and  the  excreta  emptied  frequently.     The  urinals  must 
be  washed  out  daily. 

6.  The  children  shall  not  be  permitted  to  remain  in 
classrooms  and  halls  during  intermission  except  in  in- 
clement weather. 

7.  The  expense  incidental  to  the  enforcement  of  these 
regulations  shall  be  borne  by  the  commune.     It  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  teacher  and  the  local  school  commission 
to  see  that  the  regulations  are  enforced. 

Ordinarily,  Danish  teachers,  even  in  the  smallest 
country  schools,  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  actual  work 
of  cleansing  the  schoolrooms.  Janitors  —  often  women 
—  are  employed  for  this  purpose.  In  a  few  districts, 
however,  chiefly  in  the  sparsely  populated  heather  re- 


121 

gions  of  western  Jutland,  the  teachers  look  after  the 
cleaning  of  the  schools.  But  they  are,  in  every  instance, 
paid  for  this  work  by  the  commune. 

Some  Schoolhouse  Plans.  —  The  Danish  rural  schools 
are  substantially  built.  Many  of  them  are  very  attrac- 
tive from  the  architectural  point  of  view.  And  prac- 
tically all  the  new  buildings  are  well  supplied  with  modern 
sanitary  conveniences.  The  building  material  commonly 
used  is  brick  or  reenforced  concrete.  Tile  or  slate 
roofs  are  in  ordinary  use.  Occasionally  one  may  find  old 
schoolhouses  covered  with  thatch ;  but  these  are  passing 
rapidly.  The  fearful  spread  of  tuberculosis  throughout 
the  nation  has  furnished  ample  argument  for  sanitary 
building  construction.  Now  the  general  government 
pays  a  part  of  the  cost  of  new,  modern  schoolhouses,  as 
an  inducement  to  abolish  the  old.  It  even  goes  so  far  as 
to  give  state  aid  in  the  modernization  of  old  buildings. 

Plan  I.  —  This  shows  the  ground  plan  of  Vor  Frue 
Landsogns  School  which  has  been  mentioned  several 
times  before.  The  building  was  erected  in  1900,  at  a 
cost  of  30,000  kroner.  It  has  three  classrooms  and  living 
accommodations  for  the  three  teachers. 

The  upper  grades  have  classrooms  (A  and  B)  opening 
upon  the  main  hall  (£).  The  lower  grades  (C)  have 
their  own  hall  (D)  from  which  their  teacher  —  a  woman 
—  may  reach  her  suite  of  four  rooms  overhead  by  her 
own  separate  stairway.  The  "  first  teacher  "  occupies 


122  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 


0  0  O 

1 

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j 

000 

i 

vo 

t 


-Htl ££7 


V 


I 


i\    HI 


F  II 
£    *i 

^       I  *< 


+H- 


•5 

I 


•t  r--n — >i   IP 


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7>i/e  «/77- 
H H II     II 


THEIR   BUILDINGS  AND   GROUNDS 


123 


the  remainder  of  the  first  floor.  The  "  second  teacher  " 
—  an  unmarried  man  —  has  four  rooms  above  the  princi- 
pal's suite.  The  fuel-house,  including  toilets  (M),  lies 
immediately  to  the  right  and  to  the  rear  of  the  main 
building.  The  gymnasium,  which  is  also  the  social  center 
hall,  lies  in  a  like  position  to  the  left  of  the  school.  The 
latter  structure  is  used  daily  for  gymnastics  by  the  school 
children  and  during  certain  evenings  of  the  week  by  the 
gymnastic  association  of  the  parish.  It  is  used,  more- 
over, as  the  rallying  center  of  the  community  in  its 
school  extension  courses  and  in  many  social  gatherings. 
The  yard  is  of  good  size,  is  well  planted  and  protected 
by  a  strong  hedge  and  picket  fence. 

Plan  II.  —  This  is  a  smaller  school,  being  of  one 

room  only.     The  classroom  (^4)  has,  contrary  to  Ameri- 

Gtrcfen 


Gardttt 


Flowers 


can  ideas,  its  main  window  exposure  towards  the  west. 
But  this  is  easily  understood  when  it  is  known  that 


124  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

Denmark  has  very  few  bright  sunny  days  and  some- 
thing like  ninety  that  are  foggy. 

The  teacher  has  an  office  and  six  living  rooms  down- 
stairs besides  several  others  above.  Almost  all  of  the 
teachers  in  the  rural  schools,  who  were  asked  whether 
they  preferred  their  present  mode  of  living  to  separate 
cottages,  made  answer  that  present  conditions  were 
entirely  satisfactory.  The  noise  from  the  Ryslinge 
School  seemed  to  be  a  small  matter,  especially  as  it,  ;like 
all  the  modern  buildings,  is  of  substantial  construction. 
In  this  case  a  heavy  brick  wall  separates  the  classroom 
and  gymansium  from  the  teacher's  home.  In  many  of 
the  schools,  the  teachers'  entrance  to  the  building  is  on 
the  side  opposite  from  the  children's  entrance.  In  this 
way  there  is  little  disturbance.  It  is  of  great  advantage 
to  the  teachers  to  live  right  in  their  own  great  laboratory 
where  they  can  always  be  handy  to  their  work  —  but 
where  they  can  also  have  the  necessary  amount  of  privacy. 

Plan  III.  —  This  is  the  largest  of  the  rural  schools 
visited.  The  main  building  is  constructed  of  hard  brick 
with  tile  roof,  at  a  cost  of  50,000  kroner.  The  gymna- 
sium, which  lies  to  the  rear  and  right,  cost  10,000  kroner. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  school  is  planned  on  the 
quadrangle  idea.  The  main  building  forms  the  fore- 
ground; the  gymnasium  (B),  the  right  side;  a  proposed 
teachers'  home  (C),  the  left  side ;  and  the  fuel  house  with 
toilets  (D),  the  rear.  A  good-sized  sanded  playground 


THEIR   BUILDINGS   AND   GROUNDS 


125 


M 


I 

15  * 

.11     II      1  1  .   1  1 

1. 

1 

i-u 

1 

.1- 


126  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

(.E)  lies  within.  The  entire  basement  of  the  school 
building  is  cemented.  The  intention  is  to  use  a  part  for 
playroom  in  inclement  weather ;  the  remainder  will  be 
fitted  for  manual  training  shops.  This  has  not  yet  been 
done  for  want  of  funds.  The  first  floor  contains  four 
classrooms,  all  lighted  from  the  left  and  heated  by 
means  of  very  effective  ventilating  stoves.  The  halls 
are  large,  affording  much  space  for  wardrobes.  Atten- 
tion is  also  called  to  the  separate  entrances  leading  re- 
spectively to  the  homes  of  the  principal, "  second  teacher," 
and  women  teachers.  The  gymnasium  is  the  most 
complete  of  its  kind  found  in  the  rural  schools.  Besides 
the  large  floor  equipped  with  the  Ling  system  apparatus, 
the  building  is  equipped  with  dressing  rooms  and  shower 
baths,  above  which  is  a  spacious  gallery  for  spectators. 
The  fuel  house  and  toilets  are  all  under  one  roof  and 
substantially  constructed  of  brick.  In  cold  weather 
the  toilet  rooms  are  heated.  Four  complete  gardens,  — 
one  for  each  teacher,  —  laid  out  and  planted  at  com- 
munity expense,  lie  to  the  rear  and  flank  the  quadrangle. 
Plan  IV.  —  This  shows  the  old  inland  hamlet  of 
Gamborg  in  which  a  one-teacher  school  has  been  running 
for  many  years.  A  few  years  ago  the  railroad  was 
built  through  the  community;  and  a  station  town  by 
the  name  of  Kauselunde  sprang  up.  The  new  town  com- 
prised a  part  of  the  Gamborg  school  district  and  was, 
from  the  first,  obliged  to  send  its  children  to  that 


THEIR   BUILDINGS   AND   GROUNDS 


127 


school.     It  is  noteworthy  that  in  Denmark  the  authori- 
ties are  reluctant  about  cutting  up  school  districts. 


But  the  time  came  when  Kauselunde  outgrew  Gamborg 
and  there  were  children  enough  for  two  teachers;    a 


128  RURAL   DENMARK   AND    ITS   SCHOOLS 

compromise  was  agreed  to  whereby  a  nice  new  Forskole 
was  erected  on  the  highway  between  the  two  towns, 
leaving  the  original  Gamborg  school  for  the  older  pupils. 
At  Ejby  and  Himmelev,  and  other  places,  large  consoli- 
dated schools  have  been  erected  somewhere  between  the 
two  hamlets,  a  way  which  appeared  really  more  satis- 
factory to  solve  the  school  problem. 

Teachers'  Gardens.  —  The  provision  for  free  homes  is 
a  great  stride  in  the  direction  of  long  tenures  in  the  same 
district,  whether  it  be  in  Denmark  or  in  the  United 
States.  The  addition  to  this  of  the  permanent  use  of  a 
piece  of  land  would  be  another  help  in  making  the  teacher 
a  permanent  community  leader.  In  the  olden  time 
Danish  teachers  drew  much  of  their  income  from  the 
permanent  school  lot,  which  was  a  body  of  land,  ranging 
from  two  to  ten  acres,  attached  to  the  school.  The 
patrons  and  others  who  lived  within  the  school  district 
were  even  obliged,  at  one  time,  to  furnish  the  school- 
master a  certain  amount  of  forage.  Recently,  the  school 
lots  are  being  sold  off  and  the  teachers'  salaries  have  been 
increased  with  a  money  equivalent.  A  few  are  still  in 
existence. 

But  the  teacher's  garden  has  always  been  kept  separate 
from  the  school  lot.  It  goes  really  with  the  teacher's 
home  and  is  considered  as  essential  to  happy,  complete 
country  living.  Under  the  law,  the  first  teacher  must 
have  at  least  one  third  of  an  acre;  the  other  teachers 


THEER   BUILDINGS   AND   GROUNDS  129 

are  entitled  only  to  one  fourth  as  much.  In  case  the 
land  near  the  school  is  not  adapted  to  garden  use,  the 
teacher  may  accept  a  money  equivalent.  But  this 
arrangement  is  seldom  made. 

The  garden  is  much  more  than  a  vegetable  garden.  It 
is  a  permanent  plantation.  The  community  must  stand 
the  expense  of  planning  and  planting.  It  must  be  prop- 
erly drained  and  fenced;  fruit  trees  and  shrubbery 
must  be  planted.  And  in  other  ways  it  must  be  per- 
manent and  satisfactory.  Primarily,  the  garden  is 
intended  for  the  teacher  and  his  family  —  to  give  them 
pleasure  and  added  income.  But,  as  stated  elsewhere, 
they  are  used  for  classroom  purposes  also  —  not  in  all 
schools,  though  in  many.  In  them,  teacher  and 
children  dig  and  rake  and  hoe,  side  by  side,  learning 
lessons  from  blade  and  leaf  and  flower.  It  is  here,  close 
to  the  earth  smells,  that  the  children  gain  their  first  love 
of  nature. 

Playgrounds.  —  The  Danish  rural  schools  are  not,  as 
a  rule,  equipped  with  large  playgrounds.  This  is  quite 
natural  in  a  country  where  every  square  foot  of  ground  is 
needed  in  bread  winning.  The  important  thing  is  that 
they  are  properly  utilized  and  well  equipped  to  that 
end.  The  law  forbids  loitering  indoors  during  inter- 
missions except  in  inclement  weather.  The  children 
must  be  out  on  the  playground  and  under  the  eye  of  the 

teacher.     Nearly  all  the  playgrounds  are  fenced.     All 

x 


I30 


RURAL   DENMARK   AND    ITS    SCHOOLS 


are  well  drained  and  some  part  of  each  is  sanded  and 
fit  for  use  even  in  damp  weather.  Considerable  play- 
ground apparatus  is  found  at  every  school,  particularly 
where  there  is  an  outdoor  gymnasium. 


CHAPTER  DC 

PREPARATION,  SALARIES,  AND  OLD-AGE   PENSIONS   OF 
TEACHERS 

Preparation  of  Elementary  Teachers.  —  It  is  safe  to 
place  professional  preparation  of  teachers  first  on  the 
list  in  looking  for  the  cause  of  the  uniformly  good  work 
done  in  Danish  rural  schools.  No  person  can  receive  a 
permanent  call  as  teacher  who  is  not  a  graduate  from  one 
of  the  twenty  normal  schools  or  who  does  not  hold  some 
university  degree.  Non-graduates  may  hold  places  such 
as  those  of  apprentice  teachers,  hour  teachers,  substitute 
teachers,  but  such  are  not  considered  as  teachers  in  the 
real  meaning  of  the  word. 

The  table  on  following  page  gives  a  good  idea  of  the 
preparation  of  teachers  in  the  public  rural  schools. 
Conditions  are  much  the  same  for  private  rural  schools. 

Comments  on  the  table  are  scarcely  necessary.  Out  of 
a  total  of  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve  men 
teachers  only  one  hundred  and  forty-one  are  non- 
graduates  ;  of  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-three 
women  teachers  four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  are  non- 
graduates.  The  men  teachers  are  practically  all  gradu- 

131 


132  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

TABLE  VH 


PREPARATION  OF  RURAL  TEACHERS 

IN  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

ONLY 

MEN 

WOKEN 

Kinds  of  Schools 

al  School 
lates 

Ij 

'Z-^ 

;raduatcs 

1 

\\ 

it 

-1 

•*1 

•L~* 

;r:nlu;itrs 

I 

11 

fcO 

HI 

c 

z 

(A 

3 

fc 

I 

~   _— 

i  S 

ISO 

If 

--   *•   5 

sol 

on 

i 

V. 

o 
Z 

1 

"First  teachers" 

I4S2 

6 

9 



1467 





— 

— 





Teachers   in   one- 

room  schools 

1590 

13 

48 

I 

1652 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

"Second  teachers" 

548 

2 

15 

I 

566 

266 

67 

6 

50 

4 

— 

Primary  teachers 

23 

— 

— 

2 

25 

21 

602 

ii 

136 

I 

— 

Teachers  in  tem- 

porary schools 

8 

— 

23 



31 



3 

2 

38 

— 

— 

Other  teachers 

18 

7 

46 



71 

6 

5 

14 

214 

4 

— 

Total    .     .     . 

3639 

28 

141 

4 

3812 

206  677 

33 

438 

9 

1453 

ates.  Fully  one  half  of  the  woman  non-graduates  are 
assistants  only,  and  are  not  counted  as  regular  teachers. 
The  Forskole  diploma  mentioned  under  "  women " 
refers  to  a  special  training  course  for  primary  teachers. 

Now  as  a  large  majority  of  the  teachers  get  their  prep- 
aration in  the  teachers'  seminaries  or  normal  schools 
it  is  well  to  study  the  requirements  of  these  schools  more 
closely. 

Teachers'  Seminaries :   Course  and  Requirements.  - 
The  elementary  school   teachers  of  Denmark   receive 
their  professional  preparation  in  twenty  seminaries  or 
normal  schools,  erected  wherever  needed  throughout  the 


SALARIES  AND   OLD-AGE   PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS      133 

nation.  Four  of  these  only  are  state  schools ;  the  other 
sixteen  are  privately  owned  or  belong  to  some  branch  of 
the  state  church  or  the  free  church.  The  work  in  all  of 
them  is  under  strictest  state  supervision.  The  privately 
owned  schools  are  practically  maintained  by  the  State, 
which  furnishes  liberal  aid.  Entrance  requirements, 
course  of  study,  final  examinations,  and  similar  char- 
acteristics are  similar  in  all  the  schools. 

Candidates  for  matriculation  must  have  satisfied  the 
following  requirements  before  they  can  enter  upon  study 
in  the  first  year  class : 

1.  Must  furnish  baptismal,  confirmation,  and  vac- 
cination certificates. 

2.  Must  have   attained  the  age  of  eighteen  before 
the  expiration  of  the  first  calendar  year  in  school. 

3.  Must  show  evidence  of  satisfactory  moral  charac- 
ter, and  show,  in  detail,  how  their  time  has  been  spent 
since  they  completed  the  public  school  work. 

4.  Must  produce  a  physician's  attest  to  show  that 
they  are  in  good  bodily  health ;  especially,  that  they  are 
not  suffering  from  any  disease  which  would  make  them 
unfit  for  the  teaching  profession. 

5.  Must  have  devoted  at  least  one  full  year  as  appren- 
tice in  some  school  satisfactory  to  the  Ministry  of  Educa- 
tion.    (The  presupposition  is  that  all  candidates  have  a 
good  knowledge  of  the  academic  subjects.    They  are 
then  placed  for  a  year  in  the  hands  of  an  expert  teacher 


134  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

to  permit  him  to  determine  whether  they  have  any 
natural  qualifications  to  recommend  them.  In  case 
these  seem  lacking  the  teacher  may  withhold  the  neces- 
sary credentials.) 

6.  Finally,  the  candidate  for  admission  must  pass  a 
satisfactory  test  hi  the  following  subjects : 

a.  Arithmetic  and  elementary  algebra;  b.  outlines 
of  natural  history ;  c.  geography  with  special  reference 
to  Denmark;  d.  history  of  the  North  and  outlines  of 
general  history ;  e.  test  in  reading ;  /.  written  composi- 
tion ;  g.  elements  of  Danish  grammar ;  h.  Bible  history 
and  catechism ;  i.  test  in  knowledge  of  music  —  must  be 
able  to  play  simple  compositions  on  the  violin ;  j.  young 
women  must  show  some  ability  in  sewing  and  knit- 
ting. 

The  candidates  for  admission  have  for  the  most  part 
pursued  study  in  higher  continuation  schools  since 
they  left  the  elementary  school.  Or  they  have  at  least 
spent  a  year  under  a  capable  tutor  preparing  for  the 
entrance  examinations. 

The  seminaries  offer  one  year's  study  in  preparatory 
work  for  students  knowing  themselves  to  be  deficient 
in  some  of  the  entrance  requirements.  Very  few  stu- 
dents, however,  take  the  preparatory  studies,  as  nearly 
all  who  enter  come  with  advanced  standing. 

The  following  is  the  minimum  course  for  teachers  in 
the  rural  and  other  elementary  schools : 


SALARIES  AND   OLD-AGE  PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS       135 


SUBJECTS 


PREPARATORY  YEAR 

SUBJECTS 


HOURS 
WEEKLY 


Religious 3 

Danish 5 

Geography 2 

Natural  History 3 

Physics 2 

Mathematics 4 


HOURS 
WEEKLY 


Arithmetic  (separate)      ...  4 

Writing i 

Drawing a 

Song  and  Music 2 

Gymnastics       2 

Handwork  (women)    ....  2 

English i 


FIRST  YEAR 


Religion : 

Bible  History 2 

Church  History     ....      i 
Exegesis       i 

Danish 5 

History : 

Northern  History :  Norse  and 
Greek  Mythology  ...      3 

Geography  a 

Natural  History : 
Zoology  and  Botany      .     .      3 


Mathematics : 

Geometry  (Plane)   ....  3 

Arithmetic 2 

Accounting  (Mental  Arith.)  3 

Writing i 

Drawing  (Free  Hand)      ...  2 

Song  and  Music 2 

Gymnastics : 

Men 3 

Women .2 

Study  of  Human  Body    .    .  i 

Handwork  (women)         ...  2 

German    .     , i 


SECOND  YEAR 


Religion : 

Bible  History   .... 

Exegesis 

Danish : 

Grammar  and  Literature 

Pedagogy  

Geography 

Natural  History : 

Zoology  and  Botany 


Physics 3 


Mathematics : 

Arithmetic,  Algebra,  and 

Geometry 4 

Accounting •  3 

Writing  and  Drawing      ...  2 
Song  and  Music : 

Class  Drills,  Harmony     .    .  a 
Gymnastics : 

Men 3 

Women 2 

Handwork  (women)    ....  2 

German i 

English i 


136  RURAL  DENMARK   AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

THIRD  YEAR 

Houas 
SUBJECTS  WEEKLY 

Religion :  History  (European)    ....    4 

Dogmatics,  Church  His-  Song  and  Music : 

tory,  Exegesis    ....  5          Song   Practice;    Theory   of 

Danish:  Music;  Harmony    ...     3 

History  of  Literature ;  Gymnastics : 

Study  of  Classics    ...      5          Men 3 

Pedagogy 6          Women 2 

Practice  Teaching     .     .     .     .  10      Handwork  (women)    ....     2 

(In  the  Seminary  Practice  Drawing i 

School,  and  Model  School) 

The  policy  of  Danish  schools  is  to  study  a  large  num- 
ber of  subjects  at  once  by  reducing  the  number  of  hours 
a  week  to  a  minimum  for  each  study,  where  American 
schools  would  reduce  the  number  of  subjects  and  give  a 
maximum  number  of  hours  weekly.  Danish  educators 
insist  that  better  educational  results  are  gained  by  "  dove- 
tailing "  the  entire  course  into  an  educational  whole,  all 
parts  of  which  are  held  constantly  before  the  mental  eye. 
On  account  of  this  belief  subjects  which  could  be  com- 
pleted within  the  school  year  are  drawn  out  over  several. 
Students  do  not  recite  the  total  number  of  sixty-minute 
periods  given  above,  each  week.  The  course  of  study 
prescribes  a  certain  amount  of  work  to  be  completed 
annually  in  each  subject.  That  particular  class  recites 
the  prescribed  number  of  hours  while  completing  this 
work  only.  The  actual  number  of  hour  recitations  per 
week  varies  from  about  twenty-eight  in  the  first  year 
to  eighteen  or  twenty  in  the  third. 

It  should  be  added  that  there  is  a  movement  on  foot 


SALARIES   AND   OLD-AGE  PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS       137 

to  make  the  requirements  for  graduation  considerably 
heavier  than  they  are  now. 

How  One  may  become  a  Permanent  Teacher.  — 
Graduation  from  one  of  the  seminaries  does  not  necessa- 
rily carry  with  it  government  appointment  to  a  permanent 
position.  The  supply  of  teachers  is  normally  larger 
than  the  demand.  All  are  obliged  to  begin  as  assistants 
or  substitutes,  or  as  teachers  in  provisional,  private,  and 
special  winter  schools.  The  permanent  positions  in  the 
country  include  places  as  principal  teacher  of  one-room 
school,  second  teacher,  and  woman  primary  teacher. 

Permanent  calls  to  fill  vacancies  in  these  schools  may 
be  issued  only  to  teachers  having  all  the  following  re- 
quirements : 

1.  Principals  and  teachers  of  one-room  schools  must 
have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years;    all  others 
must  be  at  least  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

2.  They  must  present  an  attest  (not  more  than  three 
months  old)  from  a  reputable  physician  that  they  are 
not  afflicted  with  tuberculosis  or  other  infectious  disease. 

3.  Preparation  must  be  as  set  forth  above. 

4.  They  must  all  have  had  experience  in  practical 
teaching  —  i.e.  as  assistants,  substitutes,  and  so  on  — 
candidates  for  principalships,  at  least  two  years ;  teachers 
in  one-room  schools,  the  same.    All  other  applicants 
shall  have  had  at  least  one  year's  experience. 

The  important  duty  of  issuing  permanent  calls  to 


138  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

teachers  falls  to  the  deanery  school  directory,  upon  the 
nomination  of  candidates  by  the  communal  council  and 
local  school  commission.  The  procedure  is  briefly  this : 
the  deanery  directory  announces  the  vacancy  and  re- 
ceives all  applications  for  the  position.  A  complete  list 
of  all  the  eligible  candidates  is  then  sent  to  the  communal 
council  and  school  commission  (the  latter  being  present 
in  an  advisory  capacity  only).  The  communal  council 
now  nominates  three  candidates  from  the  list.  The  one 
of  the  three  seemingly  having  the  best  qualifications  is 
thereupon  chosen  for  the  vacancy  by  the  deanery 
council. 

Length  of  Tenure  and  Age  of  Teachers.  — The  per- 
manently called  teachers  naturally  hold  office  during  life 
or  good  behavior.  This  has  many  advantages.  The 
teacher  from  the  first  feels  that  he  has  entered  upon  a  life 
in  the  community  and  finds  it  worth  while  to  "  grow  up 
with  the  place."  Such  a  position  does  not  preclude  the 
teacher,  on  the  other  hand,  from  later  becoming  a  can- 
didate for  a  more  desirable  place,  though  teachers  seldom 
remain  less  than  seven  to  ten  years  in  the  same  commu- 
nity. 

Teachers  may  be  expelled  from  their  positions  only  on 
account  of  gross  immorality  or  misfeasance  in  office. 
The  deanery  council  may  also  suspend  them  temporarily 
for  neglect  of  duty,  until  an  investigation  can  be  made 
by  the  Ministry  of  Education.  If  it  appears  that  a 


SALARIES   AND   OLD-AGE   PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS 


teacher  has  outgrown  his  usefulness  in  a  given  community 
on  account  of  incompatibility  of  temperament,  or  by 
having  "  got  into  a  rut  "  or  the  like,  he  may  be  trans- 
ferred to  some  school  where  he  will  fit  in  better. 

The  rural  teachers  are  mature  men  and  women,  a 
fact  which  will  appear  from  Tables  VIII  and  IX.  Prin- 
cipals and  teachers  of  one-room  schools  show  the  highest 
age.  "  Second  teachers  "  seem  to  reach  promotion  to 
these  positions  at  the  age  of  thirty  to  thirty-five.  None 
of  the  assistant  teachers  is  over  thirty.  A  few  irregular 
teachers  in  temporary  schools  are  even  below  twenty; 
but  these,  it  must  be  recalled,  are  not  teachers  as  legally 
understood. 

TABLE  VIII 


AGE  OF  MEN  TEACHERS 

RURAL  ONLY 

g 

•g 

^d 

;f 

ff 

r 

S5 

? 

? 

r 

3 

? 

a 

t! 

3 

I* 

Q 

|/> 

6 

in 

Q 

A 

k 

5 

£ 

W 

W 

* 

* 

i0 

>o 

K 

H 

Principals      .     . 

_ 

12 

96 

173 

211 

I9O 

222 

168 

153 

141 

87 

14 

_ 

1467 

One-room  schools 

— 

26 

179 

267 

226 

213 

228 

175 

143 

120 

71 

3 

I 

1652 

"Second 

teachers" 

X 

175 

193 

91 

36 

16 

20 

14 

IO 

6 

3 

i 

- 

566 

Primary        .     . 

- 

20 

3 

— 



— 



— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

25 

Provisional    .     . 

a 

8 

5 

— 

a 

3 

3 

2 

2 

I 

2 

i 

- 

31 

Winter  schools 

5 

25 

6 

s 

4 

6 

5 

4 

I 

I 

— 

— 

- 

62 

Others      .     .     . 

- 

— 

2 

3 

— 

— 

i 

i 

2 

— 

— 

— 

- 

9 

Total     .     .     . 

8 

266 

484 

539 

479 

428 

479 

364 

3" 

269 

I63 

19 

3 

3812 

140 


RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 


TABLE  IX 


AGE  or  WOMEN  TEACHERS 

RURAL  ONLY 

! 

1 

(k 

V) 

M 

•* 

! 

« 
« 

f 
3> 

o> 
T 
n 

I 

I 

•» 

•* 
I 

o> 

E 

>o 

i 

f 
3 

1 

o 

t~ 

9 

1 

I 

Principals      .     . 

















__ 



_ 



_ 



One-room  schools 



2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

I 

— 

— 

- 

— 

- 

3 

"  Second 

teachers" 

— 

5° 

85 

S3 

56 

60 

42 

26 

15 

3 

i 

— 

2 

393 

Primary    .     .     . 

2 

144 

217 

163 

99 

59 

43 

28 

4 

8 

i 

— 

3 

771 

Provisional    .     . 

4 

II 

8 

7 

4 

2 

3 

I 

i 

i 

i 

— 

- 

43 

Winter  schools 

21 

93 

57 

17 

ii 

5 

8 

2 

i 

i 

- 

— 

- 

216 

Others      .     .     . 

2 

7 

6 

2 

— 

3 

2 

I 

3 

— 

- 

— 

i 

27 

Total    .     .     . 

2Q 

3°7 

373 

242 

170 

129 

98 

59 

24 

13 

3 

— 

6 

1453 

Practical  Results.  —  Professional  training  and  long 
tenures  have  been  wrought  with  great  influence  on  rural 
community  life.  The  teachers  are  trained  for  country 
life  and  understand  its  needs.  They  enter  upon  their 
tasks,  knowing  that  they  have  time  to  rear  well  and 
fundamentally.  This  results  in  a  community  leadership 
which  cannot  be  hoped  from  peripatetic  teachers,  as  in 
the  case  with  teachers  in  most  American  rural  districts, 
who  remain  in  country  schools  for  a  term  or  two,  and 
use  them  as  stepping-stones  to  town  school  teaching  or 
other  occupations.  Danish  rural  districts  can  count 
hundreds  of  teachers  who  would  not  exchange  their  posi- 
tions for  a  first-rate  inspectorship  in  Copenhagen  —  all  be- 
cause they  have  been  enabled  by  these  fortunate  arrange- 


SALARIES  AND   OLD-AGE   PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS       141 

ments  to  hew  out  for  themselves,  where  they  are,  an  im- 
portant niche  in  the  educational  life  of  the  people. 

Rural  Teachers  are  Well  Paid :  Reasons  Why.  —  In 
Denmark,  as  elsewhere  in  Europe,  teaching  is  as  much  a 
profession  as  law  or  medicine  or  theology.  Every 
teacher  is  a  professional  teacher.  Eminent  preparation 
is  required  of  all ;  but  the  state  in  return  pays  for  the 
services  in  a  way  commensurate  with  the  time  and  effort 
used  in  preparation.  Every  hamlet  and  city  realizes 
that  education  is  essential  to  success  in  life.  Since  the 
disastrous  war  with  Prussia  and  Austria,  in  1864,  Den- 
mark has  more  than  regained  the  population  and  wealth 
that  were  lost  in  that  disaster,  chiefly  through  its  school- 
masters, who  have  been  indefatigable  in  the  educational 
campaigns  which  have  placed  the  kingdom  well  in  the 
forefront  of  nations  intellectually  and  industrially.  The 
teachers  are  rewarded  furthermore  with  a  high  social 
ranking.  Scholarship  is  respected  and  reverenced  alike 
by  high  and  low;  all  classes  look  up  to  the  teaching 
fraternity  because  of  its  importance  to  the  State. 

What  the  Teacher  Remuneration  Comprises.  —  The 
Ordinance  of  1908  made  very  satisfactory  provisions 
for  the  care  and  keep  of  rural  teachers.  The  following 
points  are  of  particular  interest : 

i.  Salary.  —  "  First  teachers  "  and  teachers  of  one- 
room  schools  are  engaged  at  a  beginning  salary  of  not 
less  than  nine  hundred  kroner  nor  more  than  fourteen 


142  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS  SCHOOLS 

hundred  kroner  to  be  paid,  monthly  in  advance,  by  the 
commune.  The  State  adds  to  this  amount  at  the  rate 
of  two  hundred  kroner  each  fourth  year  until  a  total  of 
a  thousand  kroner  has  been  reached.  In  this  way  it 
becomes  possible  to  draw  twenty-four  hundred  kroner 
per  annum  upon  the  completion  of  the  twentieth  school 
year. 

"  Second  teachers "  and  women  teachers  are  paid 
according  to  a  similar  sliding  scale,  although  the  beginning 
salary  is  less.  The  commune  pays  them  not  less  than 
seven  hundred  kroner  nor  more  than  nine  hundred  kroner. 
The  state  thereafter  makes  specified  increases. 

Teachers  in  many  "  trading-places  "  which  in  the 
United  States  would  be  rated  as  rural  get  the  same  pay 
as  the  teachers  of  the  large  provincial  towns.  Men 
begin  with  fifteen  hundred  or  sixteen  hundred  kroner  and 
may  get  increases  up  to  twenty-eight  hundred  or  three 
thousand  kroner.  Women  begin  with  fourteen  hundred 
or  fifteen  hundred  kroner  and  may  in  time  reach  nineteen 
hundred  or  two  thousand  kroner. 

This  can  be  seen  at  a  glance  from  the  figures  on  the 
opposite  page. 

2.  Home.  —  All  teachers  are  provided  with  com- 
fortable homes.  These  are  built  and  owned  by  the  com- 
mune, which  looks  after  the  upkeep.  If  the  home  does 
not  come  up  to  the  required  standards,  the  teacher  can 
have  recourse  to  law.  In  a  few  instances  where  it  is 


SALARIES  AND   OLD-AGE  PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS       143 


PRINCIPALS  AND  TEACHERS 
or  ONE-ROOK  SCHOOLS 


LOWER  SCALE 


HIGHER  SCALE 


Kroner 

First  4  years 900 

Next  4  years noo 

Next  4  years 1300 

Next  4  years 1500 

Next  4  years 1700 

Next  4  years 1900 

SECOND  TEACHERS  AND  WOMEN  TEACHERS 

First  3  years 700 

Next  3  years 850 

Next  3  years 1000 

Next  3  years 1150 

Next  3  years 1300 

Next  i  year  (for  men  only)     .     .     .  1500 

After  20  years  (men) 1 700 

After  20  years  (women)      ....  1500 

MEN  TEACHERS  (TRADING  PLACES) 

First  4  years 1500 

Next  4  years 1700 

Next  4  years 2000 

Next  4  years 2300 

Next  4  years 2500 

Following  years     ........  2800 

WOMEN  TEACHERS  (TRADING  PLACES) 

First  4  years 1400 

Next  4  years 1500 

Next  4  years 1600 

Next  4  years 1700 

Next  4  years 1800 

Following  years 1000 


Kroner 
1400 
1600 
1800 

2000 
2200 
2400 


9OO 
1050 
1200 
1350 
1500 
I7OO 
IOOO 

1700 


1500 
1600 
1700 

1800 
1900 

2000 


necessary  to  procure  accommodations  outside  of  the 
school  grounds,  the  commune  pays  the  rent. 
3.   Fuel.  —  Housing  under  the  law  includes  all  fuel 


144  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

necessary  to  heat  the  house  in  comfort,  including  also 
what  is  necessary  for  kitchen  purposes. 

4.  Garden.  —  A  well-planned  and  planted  garden  plays 
an  important  role  in  the  teachers'  remuneration.     This 
ranges  hi  size  from  one  half  or  one  third  acre  for  the 
principal  to  one  eighth  or  one  twelfth  of  an  acre  for 
the  other  teachers.     In  case  the  lay  of  the  land  or  con- 
sistency of  the  soil  makes  it  impracticable  to  provide 
gardens,  money  ranging  from  something  like  twenty- 
five  to  three  hundred  kroner  may  be  accepted  in  lieu  of 
them. 

5.  Perquisites.  —  The  old  school  "  lots  "  mentioned 
above  still  furnish  considerable  income  in  a  few  sec- 
tions.    Here  the  teachers  also  receive  a  stated  amount 
of  fodder  annually,  enough  to  winter  two  cows  and  six 
sheep. 

Finally,  there  are  specific  incomes  from  the  positions 
of  church  chorister,  organist,  and  church  fees.  The 
"  first  teacher  "  usually  has  charge  of  the  choir,  getting 
for  his  services  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  kroner. 
The  "  second  teacher  "  generally  plays  the  organ,  which 
nets  him  one  hundred  kroner  or  more. 

To  make  this  matter  of  remuneration  as  clear  as 
possible  it  may  be  well  to  use  the  following  illustration 
taken  from  an  average  school  near  the  center  of  the  island 
of  Fiinen.  The  three  teachers  of  the  school  made  the 
following  showing : 


SALARIES   AND   OLD-AGE  PENSIONS   OF  TEACHERS       145 
REMUNERATION  OF  RURAL  TEACHERS 


Teachers 

Com- 
mune 

State 

House 

Fuel 

Garden 

Church 

Total 

Kroner 

Kroner 

Kroner 

Kroner 

Acre        Kroner 

Kroner 

Kroner 

"First"  teacher 

1400 

IOOO 

480 

250 

i           ISO 

1  2O 

3400 

"Second"  teacher 

IOOO 

IOOO 

300 

I2S 

t^            40 

100 

2S6S 

Woman  teacher 

700 

600 

300 

I2S 

&            40 



1765 

A  Good  Living  for  Rural  Teachers.  —  Thirty-four 
hundred  kroner  amounts  to  about  $920  in  the  American 
equivalent.  This  is  a  considerable  sum  as  teaching 
goes.  But  if  it  is  to  be  a  just  basis  for  comparison  the 
greater  purchasing  power  of  the  Danish  equivalent  must 
be  kept  in  mind.  As  things  go  to-day  the  thirty-four 
hundred  kroner  has  a  purchasing  power  in  Denmark 
equal  to  from  $1500  to  $1800  in  the  United  States. 
This  may  be  observed  in  the  figures  used  hi  estimating  the 
value  of  house  rent  and  fuel.  The  seven-room  modern 
house,  for  example,  is  figured  at  about  $10  per  month 
—  an  equally  good  house  would  cost  twice  as  much  in  the 
United  States. 

But  to  make  the  figures  really  effective  they  might  be 
compared  with  salaries  paid  in  our  own  country,  where 
the  average  annual  salary  of  all  teachers,  rural  and  city, 
is  now  $485.  Just  what  the  rural  teachers  are  getting 
cannot  be  said  with  absolute  exactness.  But  in  1910, 
this  amounted  to  only  $296.93,  according  to  figures 
compiled  by  the  writer  from  the  reports  of  thirty  states. 
The  past  three  years  have  shown  a  material  increase  so 


146  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

that  the  amount  is  no  doubt  considerably  above  the 
$300  mark.  Even  then  it  is  scarcely  more  than  one  third 
of  what  many  teachers  of  one-room  schools  get  in  Den- 
mark. 

Old-age  Pensions.  —  These  might  also  in  full  justice 
be  counted  as  a  part  of  the  teacher's  remuneration ;  they 
are  such,  only  deferred.  Full  provision  is  made  by  the 
State  to  pension  superannuated  teachers  and  their 
widows  and  children  under  certain  regulations.  Under 
this  category  come  also  teachers  who  have  become 
incapacitated  through  accident  or  disease  during  their 
years  of  service. 

General  regulations  governing  all  pensions  are  these : 

1.  Regularly  employed  permanent  teachers  only  are 
entitled  to  pensions.     This  excludes  all  assistant  teachers, 
apprentice  teachers,  hour  teachers,  and  the  like. 

2.  The  applicant  must  have  been  regularly  employed 
for  at  least  five  years  when  the  application  for  pension  is 
made.     Exception  may  be  made  in  a  case  where  the  appli- 
cant has  held  the  same  or  similar  position  as  assistant 
teacher  before  being  made  permanent.     In   this  way 
only  is  it  possible  to  obtain  a  pension  in  disregard  of 
the  five-year  limit. 

3.  The  applicant  must  be  at  least  thirty  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  making  application,  and  the  cause  for 
retirement  can  be  no  other  than  old  age,  constitutional 
weakness,  sickness,  and  the  like.     Any  teacher  leaving 


SALARIES   AND   OLD-AGE  PENSIONS   OF   TEACHERS       147 

the  teaching  profession  to  engage  in  other  employment 
as  a  life  work  will  not  be  given  consideration. 

4.  Exceptions  to  these  regulations  are  made  in  the 
case  of  teachers  who  are  obliged  to  discontinue  their 
work  on  account  of  having  contracted  infectious  tuber- 
culosis. All  such,  no  matter  whether  permanently 
employed  or  not,  are  entitled  to  an  annual  pension  for 
life  equivalent  to  two  thirds  of  the  average  income  on 
their  "  living  "  for  the  last  five  years  immediately  prior 
to  retiring. 

Scale  of  Pensions.  —  The  size  of  the  pension  is  based 
upon  the  entire  "  living  "  of  the  teacher  —  i.e.  on  his 
cash  salary,  house,  fuel,  and  perquisites.  It  is  not 
based  on  the  last  year's  income,  but  upon  the  estimated 
average  of  the  five  years  immediately  before  retir- 
ing. 

Here  follows  the  present  scale :  From  o  to  2  years' 
service  above  five  years  y^  of  the  average  income  during 
these  five  years ;  from  2  to  4  years'  service,  -fo  of  the 
income ;  from  7  to  10,  -j% ;  from  10  to  20,  \  ;  from  20  to  21, 
\\  ;  from  21  to  22,  f# ;  from  22  to  23,  £$ ;  from  23  to  24, 
f£;  from  24  to  25,  ff ;  from  25  to  26,  f$ ;  from  26  to 
27>  ti  I  fr°m  27  to  28,  \\  ;  from  28  to  29,  f  $ ;  and  over 

29,!- 

Widows  of  teachers  on  the  eligible  list  are  entitled  to 
an  annual  pension  of  one  eighth  of  the  husband's  average 
"  living  "  during  the  last  five  years  of  his  office.  This 


148  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

rule  holds  good  whether  the  husband  dies  during  active 
service  or  after  having  been  retired. 

The  children  of  the  deceased  are,  strictly  speaking, 
not  entitled  to  pension,  but  under  the  ruling  of  the  Law 
of  1856,  all  unconfirmed  children  of  such  shall  be  cared 
for  from  a  special  fund  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  The 
care  of  these  children,  so  far  as  pecuniary  aid  is  concerned, 
is  intrusted  to  the  deanery  school  directory. 


CHAPTER  X 

APPLICATION  OF  THE  DANISH  SYSTEM  TO  AMERICAN 

SCHOOLS 

General  Statement.  —  The  elementary  rural  schools  of 
Denmark  have  reached  their  present  state  of  high 
efficiency  as  the  result  of  many  years  of  painful  develop- 
ment. The  fact  that  the  Danish  people  are  homogeneous 
and  form  a  small  nation  has  naturally  made  the  process 
less  difficult.  When  to  this  be  added  dire  necessity 
which  several  times  within  the  past  hundred  years  has 
acted  as  a  needed  spur,  one  can  readily  understand  the 
present  satisfactory  conditions. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  reasons  enough  why  rural 
school  conditions  in  the  United  States  are  no  better 
than  they  are.  Ours  is  a  great  nation  in  the  process  of 
making.  There  is  a  continuous  shifting  and  changing 
going  on  in  the  country  population.  Many  have  been 
seeking  the  new  lands  of  the  West;  others  have  been 
moving  into  the  large  villages  and  some  to  the  cities, 
compelled  by  the  modern  industrialism.  Much  of  this 
shifting  process  has  been  wholesome  as  it  has  rid  agri- 
cultural communities  of  many  people  who  are  city- 
minded. 

149 


150  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

But  in  this  process  of  reorganization  the  rural  schools 
and  all  other  factors  in  country  life  have  suffered  much 
loss.  The  former  have  been  unable  for  many  reasons  to 
keep  pace  with  the  great  changes  that  have  been  going 
on.  Many  of  them  have  become  retarded  and  are 
unable  to  cope  with  the  new  agricultural  conditions.  The 
most  hopeful  thing  about  this  difficult  situation  is,  no 
doubt,  that  educationists  all  over  the  country  are  awake 
to  present  needs  and  are  at  work  to  seek  and  apply  the 
remedies. 

In  some  sections  of  the  United  States  the  small  rural 
schools  are  bound  to  persist  indefinitely,  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  geographical  conditions.  Elsewhere,  great 
changes  are  taking  place  in  school  organization.  Where 
need  has  compelled  or  conditions  for  reorganization 
have  been  right,  thousands  of  country  communities 
have  consolidated,  or  are  in  the  process  of  consolidating, 
the  enfeebled  schools  in  natural  rural  centers,  grading 
the  work  thoroughly,  and  in  many  instances  offering  as 
many  as  four  years  of  high  school  work. 

The  new  schools  will  be  pretty  sure  to  accomplish 
for  the  country  community  what  the  old  have  been 
incapable  of  doing ;  namely,  to  train  the  boys  to  become 
scientific  farmers  and  the  girls  practical  wives  for  the 
farmers.  From  these  schools  are  beginning  to  come 
already  many  impulses  to  organize  the  country  people 
on  a  more  permanent  social-economic  foundation. 


APPLICATION  TO  AMERICAN   SCHOOLS  151 

A  Study  of  Danish  Rural  Schools  of  Value  to  American 
Educators.  —  As  stated  elsewhere,  it  would  be  unwise  to 
transplant  to  the  United  States  educational  systems 
taken  from  European  countries ;  yet  such  countries  can 
often  teach  lessons  of  greatest  value.  The  rural  schools 
of  Denmark  have  accomplished  certain  things  which 
American  schools  have  as  yet  failed  to  attain.  In  part 
these  failures  are  explainable  in  natural  causes  which 
could  not  be  surmounted;  but  very  often  needless 
disorganization  in  school  policies  might  have  been  pre- 
vented had  there  been  more  widespread  knowledge  of 
educational  conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  older  Euro- 
pean states. 

The  following  paragraphs  summarize  some  of  the 
salient  things  in  the  Danish  system.  They  contain 
also  some  suggestions  as  to  the  possible  application  of 
some  of  them  to  our  American  rural  schools. 

Teaching  hi  Denmark  a  Life  Profession.  —  No  man 
or  woman  is  permitted  to  teach  in  the  public  schools 
who  has  not  completed  at  least  the  regular  professional 
course  in  one  of  the  twenty  State  accredited  teachers' 
seminaries.  Nor  can  any  teacher  receive  a  permanent 
"  call  "  until  he  has  been  tested  as  a  substitute  teacher, 
hour  teacher,  and  so  on.  This  plan  tends  to  weed  out 
those  who  are  unfit. 

A  majority  of  the  teachers  remain  in  the  same  com- 
munity for  many  years,  growing  up  in  a  way  with  the 


152  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

community,  coming  soon  to  understand  local  needs,  and 
then  setting  to  work  systematically  to  supply  them. 

These  teachers  are  well  paid  and  well  housed.  The 
calling  is  dignified  and  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem. 
Because  of  these  fortunate  conditions  men  teachers  — 
generally  married  men  —  are  in  a  large  majority  in  the 
schools.  To  be  exact,  82  per  cent  of  elementary  school 
teachers  are  men. 

Conditions  in  the  United  States.  —  In  this  country 
conditions  are  quite  different.  A  large  majority  of  rural 
teachers  have  little,  if  any,  professional  training.  Many 
of  them  are  certified  as  teachers  by  local  authority 
immediately  after  leaving  the  grades.  The  average  ten- 
ure for  all  teachers  is  short,  and  for  rural  teachers,  it  is 
much  shorter.  In  a  great  state  of  the  Middle  West,  last 
year,  47  per  cent  of  the  rural  teachers  were  entirely 
untried,  and  in  other  states  conditions  are  fully  as  bad. 
The  percentage  of  men  teachers  has  dropped  from  29.9 
per  cent  in  1899-1900  to  21.1  per  cent  in  1909-1910 
and  20.7  per  cent  in  1910-1911. 

It  is  evident  that  the  rural  schools  of  our  country  will 
find  it  difficult  to  furnish  the  trained  leaders  needed  in  the 
open  country  until  a  staff  of  professionally  trained 
teachers  is  placed  in  charge  of  the  schools.  Prevailing 
conditions  in  Danish  schools  would  suggest  that  the 
professionalizing  of  our  rural  teachers  might  be  hastened, 
(i)  by  providing,  through  legal  enactment,  a  liberal 


APPLICATION  TO   AMERICAN   SCHOOLS  153 

sliding-scale  salary,  increasing  definitely  with  the 
length  of  tenure ;  (2)  by  making  it  obligatory  upon  the 
community  to  erect  teachers'  cottages,  thereby  keeping 
the  teachers  in  the  country  permanently;  and  (3)  by 
encouraging  teachers'  colleges,  normal  schools,  high 
schools  with  teacher-training  courses,  and  like  institu- 
tions to  organize  thoroughgoing  departments  in  country 
life  and  country  teaching,  from  which  to  draw  teachers 
willing  and  able  to  undertake  the  difficult  task  of  teach- 
ing real  farm  community  schools. 

Organization  for  School  Maintenance  and  Supervision. 
—  The  maintenance  of  Danish  schools  through  a  system 
of  local  and  State  taxes  is  eminently  fair,  as  it  both 
encourages  to  greatest  local  initiative  and  equalizes 
educational  advantages  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

School  supervision  is  fairly  close  and  effective,  since  it 
works  concentrically  from  the  great  central  authority 
outward  to  the  smallest  rural  community.  Supervision 
is  left  in  the  hands  of  several  authorities,  the  one  keeping 
a  check  on  the  activity  of  the  other.  Special  supervisors 
in  charge  of  music,  gymnastics,  drawing,  sloyd,  and  such 
subjects  are  very  effective  in  their  work. 

In  the  United  States  probably  nothing  has  done  more 
to  retard  the  development  of  the  rural  schools  than  the 
general  want  of  a  unit  of  organization  large  enough  to 
make  the  management  of  the  schools  efficient,  economical, 
and  intelligent.  The  small  independent  district  of  the 


154  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

open  country  has  generally  proved  too  small  to  be  in- 
trusted with  final  legislation  in  matters  of  importance. 
Especially  is  this  true  where  the  taxing  power  is  con- 
cerned. The  union  of  several  townships  into  strong 
administrative  and  supervisory  units  is  to  be  commended 
for  the  older  states  where  the  township  (town)  is  the 
unit  in  local  government.  In  the  Middle  Western  and 
Western  States  a  change  should  be  made  from  the  small 
district,  as  well  as  township,  to  the  county  basis  of 
organization.  When  one  school  board,  elected  from  the 
area  at  large,  controls  all  the  schools,  a  more  uniform 
standard  of  excellence  and  equality  in  school  provision 
is  sure  to  prevail.  In  sections  where  the  large  unit 
prevails,  excellent  results  may  already  be  seen  in  the 
consolidation  of  weak  schools  into  effective  farm  schools. 

The  problem  of  close,  helpful  supervision  is  compara- 
tively easy  of  solution  in  densely  peopled  sections,  but 
will  continue  as  a  serious  hindrance  to  good  teaching 
in  sparsely  settled  regions.  But,  in  a  general  way,  things 
could  be  materially  improved  if  State  departments  of 
education  had  the  use  of  a  number  of  carefully  trained 
rural  supervisors  to  help  local  supervisors  standardize 
their  work.  Finally,  local  supervisors  can  scarcely 
become  genuinely  helpful  before  a  continuous  professional 
relation  is  set  up  between  local  supervisors  and  teachers. 

Enforcement  of  Compulsory  Attendance.  —  School 
attendance  in  Denmark  is  almost  ideal.  For  1913,  only 


APPLICATION  TO  AMERICAN   SCHOOLS  155 

eight  hundred  and  twenty-two  children  of  school  age  in 
country  districts  failed  to  enter  school.  Of  these,  four 
hundred  and  fifty-two  were  abnormal  or  afflicted  with 
infectious  disease  and  were  by  law  excluded.  Only 
three  hundred  and  seventy  were  unaccounted  for,  which 
for  the  entire  school  population  makes  about  one  tenth 
of  i  per  cent.  The  people  in  general  are  so  imbued  with 
the  idea  of  education,  or,  if  this  is  not  the  case,  they  have 
at  any  rate  such  wholesome  respect  for  the  compulsory- 
attendance  law  that  they  never  think  of  breaking  it. 
The  fact  in  point  is  that  the  law  is  enforced  without  fear 
or  favor. 

At  the  present  time  thirty-seven  states  in  the  United 
States  have  compulsory-attendance  laws  on  their  statute 
books ;  six  have  laws  which  apply  to  part  of  their  terri- 
tory only ;  and  another  five  have  no  such  laws  whatever. 
Many  weaknesses  could  be  pointed  to  in  these  laws, 
though  perhaps  the  most  serious  is  the  manner  in  which 
the  average  law  is  enforced.  In  most  states  the  enforce- 
ment is  left  to  local  authority,  which  is  often  influenced 
by  local  prejudice  and  interests  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  law  becomes  practically  inoperative.  If  all  the  states 
would  follow  the  example  of  Connecticut  and  appoint 
state  agents  for  the  purpose,  there  would  be  less  difficulty 
in  enforcing  the  law.1 

1  See  "A  Comparative  Study  of  Public  School  Systems  in  the  Forty- 
eight  States,"  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York. 


156  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

School  Work  adapted  to  Country  Needs.  —  The 
elementary  rural  schools  of  Denmark  do  not  pretend  to 
teach  agriculture  as  a  practical  subject ;  they  leave  that 
for  the  agricultural  schools  to  do.  But  they  do  teach  a 
love  of  nature  in  such  a  way  that  the  average  child  early 
learns  to  love  nature  and  to  live  in  harmony  with  its 
laws.  Where  there  is  a  genuine  love  of  the  soil  for  its 
own  sake,  the  work  of  training  the  young  agriculturists 
becomes  reasonably  easy.  The  schools  teach  other 
practical  subjects  effectively ;  but  this  teaching  is  never 
done  at  the  expense  of  such  essential  subjects  as  language, 
mathematics,  geography,  and  history.  Music  and  gym- 
nastics hold  exceptionally  high  place  in  the  daily  work. 

Much  rural  school  work  is  done  as  thoroughly  in  some 
rural  sections  of  the  United  States  as  in  rural  Denmark, 
although  for  many  reasons  uniformly  good  results  are 
yet  far  from  attainment.  But  in  respect  to  music  and 
physical  education,  at  least,  our  schools  may  learn  much 
from  Denmark.  Our  rural  teachers  should  be  required 
to  sing,  or  at  any  rate  should  be  able  to  instruct  in  music 
and  song.  And  since  flat  chests  and  crooked  knees  are 
just  as  common  in  rural  children  as  in  town  children,  the 
teachers  may  reasonably  well  be  expected  to  have  train- 
ing in  sanitation  and  physical  education,  including  play. 


B.   AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS 

General  Statement.  —  The  Danish  country  boys 
leave  the  elementary  rural  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
or  fifteen;  then  they  devote  three  years  or  more  to 
practical  home  and  farm  tasks.  At  eighteen  they  may 
enter  the  folk  high  schools,  spending  there  a  winter  or 
two  to  get  as  large  a  share  as  possible  in  the  cultural 
subjects.  Then  at  nineteen  or  twenty  or  even  later  they 
are  ready  to  make  a  final  study  of  the  technical  agricul- 
tural subjects  —  in  the  local  agricultural  schools. 

Although  the  agricultural  schools  of  Denmark  are 
the  direct  outgrowth  of  the  folk  high  schools,  let  us 
consider  them  here  instead  of  after  the  folk  high  schools, 
which  are  discussed  in  detail  from  Chapter  XII  to  the 
close  of  the  book. 

The  importance  to  students  of  a  course  in  the  folk  high 
schools  before  they  enter  the  agricultural  schools  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated.  The  life  at  the  former 
schools  has  a  quickening  effect  upon  them ;  they  learn  to 
think  for  themselves,  and  they  enter  the  agricultural 

157 


158  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

schools  ready  to  appropriate  and  apply  to  a  larger  degree 
what  they  find  there  than  could  otherwise  have  been 
possible.  From  figures  quoted  elsewhere  it  appears  that 
about  50  per  cent  of  all  agricultural  students  have 
attended  folk  high  schools  for  one  or  more  winter  sessions 
before  entering  upon  their  technical  studies.  Many 
agricultural  schools,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  require  that 
their  matriculants  shall  have  spent  some  time  at  the 
folk  high  schools  before  beginning  agricultural  studies. 

Captain  J.  C.  la  Cour  loved  to  say :  "  The  Danish 
Agricultural  School  is  the  child  of  the  Danish  Folk  High 
School,  and  must,  like  it,  have  Christian  faith  and 
national  life  for  its  basis."  The  union  between  the  two 
kinds  of  schools  is  remarkably  close.  In  organization  and 
internal  management  the  agricultural  schools  are  very 
similar  to  their  prototype,  the  folk  high  schools.  The 
same  democratic  spirit  of  government,  the  dormitory 
plan  of  student  life,  the  great  emphasis  placed  on  song 
and  gymnastics,  the  use  of  the  lecture  method  whenever 
feasible  —  all  bespeak  this. 

Every  agricultural  school  has  its  school  farm.  But, 
for  that  matter,  so  has  practically  every  folk  high  school. 
Some  of  them  have  even  well  up  towards  a  hundred 
acres.  It  is  true  that  the  latter  makes  use  of  its  land 
chiefly  to  aid  in  the  upkeep  of  the  school  by  furnishing 
vegetables;  and  the  agricultural  schools  make  use  of 
theirs  for  laboratory  purposes.  The  amount  of  practical 


DALUM  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL  NEAR  ODENSE. 

These  schools  must  not  be  confused  with  the  agricultural  college  which  is  in 
Copenhagen.  They  are  schools  of  the  open  country  where  farm  folk  learn 
scientific  farming. 


SMALL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL  AT  LYNGBY. 

Monument  of  Captain  J.  C.  la  Cour,  its  founder,  and  the  father  of  these 
schools,  on  the  campus  in  the  foreground. 


WORK   OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS      159 

work  varies  greatly.  Some  schools  are  content  to  adhere 
closely  to  teaching  the  theory  of  agriculture.  Others 
have  extensive  experimental  fields,  herds  of  milk  cows, 
great  numbers  of  swine  and  poultry;  at  a  few  schools 
there  are  fully  equipped  creameries  for  the  working  up 
of  the  milk  produced  on  the  school  farm  and  milk  hauled 
in  from  neighboring  farms.  Several  have  well-equipped 
bacteriological  laboratories  where  problems  are  worked 
out  of  the  greatest  value  to  agricultural  life.  Each 
separate  school  strives  to  formulate  its  courses  to  the 
needs  of  its  own  agricultural  section. 

The  government-aided  agricultural  schools  number 
twenty-three,  which  includes  three  special  agricultural 
schools  for  smallhold  farmers.  It  is  the  purpose  to  tell 
below  a  little  of  the  daily  life  and  work  at  three  typical 
schools  of  this  kind.  Those  chosen  are  Lyngby  in  Zea- 
land, Dalum  in  Fiinen,  and  Ladelund  in  Jutland. 

Lyngby  Agricultural  School.  —  Lyngby  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  spots  in  Denmark.  It  is  only  seven  miles 
north  of  Copenhagen,  and  on  this  account  is  visited  by 
foreign  commissions  and  unattached  educators  more 
frequently  than  the  other  schools.  The  Lyngby  com- 
munity comprises  a  whole  system  of  educational  institu- 
tions rather  than  a  single  school.  There  is  the  Lyngby 
Agricultural  School  and,  right  across  the  road  from  it, 
Grundtvig's  Folk  High  School.  A  government  experi- 
ment farm  lies  contiguous  to  the  agricultural  school, 


l6o  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  a  most  unique  agricultural  museum  adjoins  the  folk 
high  school  grounds.  Besides  these  a  cooperative  as- 
sociation of  local  farmers  has  experiment  fields  and  sales 
emporiums  in  the  school  community. 

Lyngby  Agricultural  School  was  organized  in  1867  by 
Captain  J.  C.  la  Cour  and  a  local  association  of  farmers. 
This  was  really  an  attempt  to  operate  an  agricultural 
school  that  has  as  one  of  its  integral  parts  a  folk  high 
school  department.  But  this  arrangement  did  not  prove 
very  satisfactory.  At  least,  the  folk  high  school  de- 
partment did  not  prosper.  In  1890  the  Grundtvig 
High  School  Association  (organized  to  perpetuate  the 
bishop's  name  in  a  folk  high  school)  purchased  the  agri- 
cultural school  and  additional  land.  A  group  of  new 
buildings  was  erected  for  Grundtvig's  Folk  High  School, 
giving  the  school  at  the  same  time  a  separate  administra- 
tion. The  present  status  is  therefore  this :  one  associa- 
tion of  schoolmen  and  farmers  own  both  schools;  but 
these  have  separate  principals  and  separate  internal 
management.  Yet  they  work  in  the  greatest  harmony, 
so  far  as  to  use  a  gymnasium  in  common,  exchanging 
lecturers  and  in  other  ways  helping  each  other.  The 
work,  according  to  expert  testimony,  has  been  much 
more  satisfactory  to  all  concerned  since  the  division  into 
two  schools. 

Lyngby  Agricultural  School  is  a  good  illustration  of 
the  substantial  smaller  schools  of  agriculture.  The 


WORK  OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS      l6l 


school  farm  embraces  some  nineteen  acres  only;  but 
Lyngby  has  the  opportunity  to  make  use  of  important 
investigations  carried  on. by  the  government  on  its  ex- 
periment farm  mentioned  above.  The  students  may 
also  draw  much  inspiration  from  Grundtvig's  Folk  High 
School  and  from  study  at  the  great  Danish  Agricultural 
Museum  (Dansk  Landbrugsmuseum)  near  by. 

Lyngby  offers  two  courses  for  young  men  —  one  of 
six  and  one  of  nine  months.  Prerequisites  for  admis- 
sion are:  (i)  some  familiarity  with  farm  work,  and  (2) 
time  spent  at  some  folk  high  school.  The  six  months' 
course  is : 


Chemistry  (Inorganic  and  or- 
ganic). 

Physics. 

Study  of  Soils. 

Treatment  of  Soils  (Including 
meadow  and  moorlands ;  irri- 
gation and  draining). 

Study  of  Fertilizers. 

Rotation  of  Crops. 

Plant  Culture. 

Study  of  Weeds. 

Seed  Culture. 

Plant  Diseases. 

Domestic  Animals  (Their  An- 
atomy). 

Breeding  of  Domestic  Animals 
(Cattle,  horses,  swine,  and 
sheep). 


Study  of  Breeds  and  Breeding. 

Judging  Horses  and  Cattle. 

Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals. 

Feeding. 

Horseshoeing  and  Smithing. 

Dairying. 

Farm  Machinery. 

Farm  Accounting. 

Drawing. 

Surveying  and  Leveling. 

Arithmetic. 

Written  Themes. 

Danish. 

History  of  Agriculture. 

Study  of  how  to  overcome  Com- 
mercial Faults  in  our  Do- 
mestic Animals. 


1 62  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

The  nine  months'  course  includes  all  of  the  above,  but 
•is  more  detailed.  Lecture  courses  in  sociology  and 
economics  with  special  reference  to  rural  life  are  added. 
Some  work  is  also  offered  for  students  who  desire  to 
become  "  control  assistants  "  —  i.e.  local  agricultural 
experts  who  offer  advice  in  such  subjects  as  dairying, 
feeding,  and  fertilization  of  soils. 

The  Government  experiment  station  is  utilizing  some 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  land  at  this  time. 
The  Lyngby  station  limits  its  work  to  cereals  and  root 
plants  especially  adapted  to  Zealand  conditions.  Highly 
scientific  experiments  are  carried  on  in  the  comparative 
values  of  cereals,  clover,  roots,  and  so  on.  All  such  work 
may  be  observed  by  the  students  of  the  agricultural 
school. 

Dansk  Folkemuseum  is  the  largest  museum  of  its 
kind  in  Denmark.  Several  large  buildings  are  filled 
with  agricultural  implements,  and  furniture  and  house- 
hold utensils,  arranged  chronologically,  covering  many 
hundred  years.  Here  the  students  have  the  opportunity 
to  study  the  evolution  in  the  plow  or  harrow  from  the 
simple  wooden  affair  of  the  forefathers  to  the  many 
modern  implements.  Harvesting,  threshing,  and  dairy- 
ing may  likewise  be  observed  from  their  primitive 
beginnings  to  the  present-day  labor-saving  machinery. 
Entire  farmsteads,  with  all  their  outbuildings,  two, 
three,  or  even  four  hundred  years  old,  have  been  moved 


WORK  OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS      163 

in  from  various  parts  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  the  Faroes, 
and  Iceland  and  rebuilt  on  the  museum  grounds  at 
Lyngby. 

The  cooperative  enterprises  carried  on  in  the  com- 
munity can  also  be  utilized  to  practical  ends  by  the 
school. 

Dalum  Agricultural  and  Dairy  School.  —  To  take  the 
half  hour's  walk  from  Odense  in  Fiinen  out  to  Dalum 
Agricultural  School  seemed  almost  like  making  a  pil- 
grimage to  the  shrine  of  Kristen  Kold.  His  first  Rys- 
linge  school,  it  will  be  shown  in  Chapter  XII,  was  moved 
to  Dalby  in  northeast  Fiinen,  and  hi  1862  Kold  opened 
a  more  pretentious  school  at  Dalum,  where  he  labored 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1870.  His  was  a  great 
work  and  when  he  died  no  available  man  was  found  to 
continue  what  he  had  begun,  with  the  result  that  the 
school  eventually  closed  its  doors,  not  to  be  reopened 
before  1886,  when  it  was  reorganized  by  a  great  school- 
man, Jorgen  Petersen,  as  Dalum  Landbrugskole. 

This  school  with  Ladelund  and  Tune  make  the  trio  of 
greatest  local  agricultural  schools  in  Denmark.  It  has 
influenced  Danish  agricultural  life  to  every  corner  of  the 
kingdom.  Forty-two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  students 
have  completed  its  courses  in  the  twenty-six  years 
of  its  existence.  Of  these  thirty-one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  have  returned  to  the  soil  as  scientific  farmers, 
six  hundred  and  fifty-two  have  gone  into  the  creameries, 


164  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  four  hundred  and  seventeen  have  become  control 
assistants,  or  agricultural  experts  whose  business  it  is 
to  advise  the  farmers  and  teach  them  better  agriculture. 
The  average  winter  attendance  is  about  two  hundred 
and  in  summer  only  twenty-five  of  the  most  capable 
students  are  retained,  who  get  the  practical  work  of  the 
farm  by  actually  doing  it  under  experts.  This  small 
group  become  heads  of  large  farms,  managers  of  dairies, 
of  bacon  factories,  and  of  similar  businesses. 
Dalum  offers  the  following  courses: 

1.  Courses  for  Agriculturists. 

a.  6  months  (November-April) 

b.  9  months  (November-July) 

c.  3  months  (May- July) 

2.  Course  for  Dairymen. 

a.  8  months  (September-April) 

3.  Course  for  Control  Assistants. 

a.  i  month  (October) 

COURSES  FOR  AGRICULTURISTS 

The  six  months'  course :  Requirements  for  admission 
are  (i)  practical  knowledge  of  farm  work;  (2)  com- 
pletion of  a  course  in  a  folk  high  school ;  (3)  generally, 
at  least  twenty  years  of  age.  The  studies : 

Chemistry  (Inorganic  and  organic  —  in  relation  to  everyday 
life). 

Physics  (Mechanics ;  heat;  electricity;  meteorology,  etc). 
Plant  Culture  (Structure;  life;  common  diseases). 
Drawing  (Geometrical;  mechanical,  etc). 


WORK  OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS      165 

Surveying  (Field  work  throughout  the  spring). 

Danish  (Language;  composition;  themes). 

Arithmetic. 

Farm  Accounting  (Cash  and  bank  accounts ;  fodder  and  milk 
accounting;  field  records;  daily  and  annual  settlements). 

Gymnastics. 

History  of  Agriculture  (With  special  reference  to  Danish 
conditions). 

Study  of  Soils. 

Dairying  (In  addition  to  the  regular  course,  a  series  of  lec- 
tures of  special  interest  to  milk  producers  is  offered,  such  as  treat- 
ment of  milk  in  the  home ;  statistics  on  dairy  management,  etc.). 

Farm  Management  (Farm  organization ;  rotation  of  crops ; 
use  of  banks  and  credit  unions ;  land  laws ;  communal  laws,  etc.). 

Farm  Machinery  (Study  of  farm  implements ;  results  of  trials 
and  experiments  with  common  farm  machinery;  preservation 
and  use  of  machines,  etc.). 

Plant  Culture  (Preparation  of  soil ;  study  of  fertilizers ;  seed- 
ing ;  harvesting ;  history  and  culture  of  the  most  useful  plants ; 
weeds;  plant  diseases,  seed  culture,  etc.). 

Domestic  Animals  (Anatomy;  the  horse,  breeds  and  breed- 
ing ;  the  hog,  cow,  sheep,  etc.,  in  similar  manner ;  care  of  all  do- 
mestic animals). 

The  nine  months'  course :  This  presupposes  the 
completion  of  the  above  six  months'  course  or  its  equiv- 
alent in  some  other  school.  The  course  includes  all 
the  studies  enumerated  in  the  six  months'  course  in 
addition  to  three  months  of  advanced  work  with  prac- 
tical application  in  laboratory  and  experiment  field, 
during  May,  June,  and  July. 

The  three   months'  course:   This   is  a   continuation 


1 66  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

course  for  old  and  advanced  students.  It  is  practical 
laboratory  and  field  work  chiefly.  It  covers  the  months 
of  May,  June,  and  July. 

COURSE  FOR  DAIRYMEN 

The  dairy  school  of  Dalum  has  its  own  lecture 
halls,  bacteriological  and  chemical  laboratories,  a  large 
creamery  which  manufactures  the  milk  from  the  school 
herd  of  cows  and  from  the  farms  of  the  vicinity,  and 
much  other  modern  equipment.  The  course  covers  eight 
months'  work,  from  September  to  April.  The  studies : 


Chemistry 
Physics 
Machinery 
Bacteriology 

Domestic  Animals 
Dairying 
Farm  Accounting 
Bookkeeping 

Arithmetic 
Penmanship,  and 
Gymnastics 

Practical  Exercises 

1.  Study  of  milk  in  the  creamery ;  testing  for  fats,  etc. 

2.  Bacteriological  exercises;    common  bacteriological 
technique,  microscopic  cultures,  etc. 

3.  Chemical  analyses  of  a  practical  kind  for  the  dairy, 
such  as  testing  for  purity,  determining  per  cent  of  water 
in  butter,  etc. 

4.  Chemical  experiments  in  qualitative  analysis  deal- 
ing with  the  chief  inorganic  and  organic  substances. 

COURSE  FOR  CONTROL  ASSISTANTS 
The  demand  for  control  assistants  is  so  urgent  that  the 
school  has  organized  a  special  course  in  this  field.    The 


WORK  OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS      167 

work  is  open  to  men  and  women  of  maturity  and  experi- 
ence who  have  already  completed  an  agricultural  or 
dairy  course  at  Dalum  or  at  some  agricultural  school  of 
equal  rank.  The  work  is  all  advanced. 

The  course  includes  classwork  and  lectures  on  dairying, 
dairy  accounting,  study  of  feeding,  study  of  soil  tests  and 
fertilizing ;  with  practical  work  in  milk  weighing,  testing 
for  fats,  etc.,  the  use  of  Dr.  Gerber's  apparatus,  keeping 
records  of  individual  cows,  etc. 

Dalum  is  a  large  school.  Something  like  a  score  of 
substantial  structures  have  sprung  up  around  Kold's 
original  school  building,  which  is  still  in  use.  The 
experiment  fields  are  large  and  interesting.  The  school 
herds  of  cattle  and  swine  were  the  best  seen  anywhere 
on  our  trip.  The  faculty  list  includes  some  of  the  ablest 
agricultural  scientists  in  Denmark.  The  Principal  is 
Th.  Madsen-Mygdal,  who  has  done  great  work  for 
Danish  agriculture.  Another  man  of  note  is  Jacob  E. 
Lange  who  is  well  known  for  his  great  work  in  horticul- 
ture. 

Ladelund  Agricultural  and  Dairy  School.  —  This  great 
farm  school  lies  only  an  hour's  walk  northwest  of  Askov, 
or  may  be  reached  in  a  few  minutes  by  rail  from  Vejen 
to  Brorup  Station.  The  school  embraces  fifty  or  more 
acres  of  land  divided  into  home  farm,  experimental 
plots,  forestry  station,  and  school  campus.  The  latter 
contains  some  forty  farm  and  school  buildings. 


i68 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS  SCHOOLS 


EXPLANATION  or  ABOVE-GROUND  PLAN 


1.  Main  building. 

2.  Lecture  hall. 

3.  Classrooms. 

4.  Classrooms. 

5.  Collection  of  classroom  materials. 

6.  Passage. 

7.  Passage. 

8.  Heating  plant. 

9.  Study  rooms. 
10.  Gymnasium, 
ix.   Classrooms. 

12.  Chemical  laboratory. 

13.  Dormitory. 

14.  Dairy. 

15.  Dairy. 

1 6.  Machine  house. 

17.  Machine  house. 

18.  Laundry. 

19.  Stable. 

20.  Baths. 


21.  Cow  barn. 

22.  Hog  house. 

23.  Granary. 

24.  Manure  shed. 

25.  Hog  house  and  machinery  shed. 

26.  Storehouse. 

27.  Coal  house. 

28.  Retirade. 

29.  Greenhouse. 

30.  Ice  house. 

31.  Peat  house. 

32.  Fuel  house. 

33.  Dairy  museum. 

34.  Hospital. 

35.  Teacherage. 

36.  Agricultural  museum. 

37.  Wells  and  water  works. 

38.  Wells  and  water  works. 

39.  Manure  cisterns. 

40.  Chicken  house. 


WORK  OF  THE  LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS      169 

The  purpose  of  the  school  is  stated  in  the  following 
language :  "  Through  the  courses  of  instruction  it  is 
sought  to  give  the  students  —  who  must  be  acquainted 
with  the  practical  side  of  agriculture  and  dairying  —  such 
a  foundation  of  knowledge  as  will  enable  them  to  attain  a 
clearer  insight  into  those  things  which  they  in  practice 
must  labor  with,  and  hence  also  greater  interest,  greater 
returns,  and  greater  joy  in  their  work.  This  end  is 
sought  to  be  attained,  partly  by  giving  the  students 
knowledge  of  nature  that  surrounds  them,  of  the  forces 
that  are  at  work  and  the  laws  that  govern,  and  before 
which  we  must  yield  and  regulate  our  daily  work  in  field 
and  barn  and  dairy ;  and  partly  by  making  known  to  the 
students  the  results  of  experimentation,  of  investigation, 
and  so  on,  in  the  field  of  agriculture  and  dairying  — 
results  on  the  basis  of  which  we  must  shape  our  practical 
activities."  1 

The  school  offers  courses  in  agriculture,  in  dairying, 
and  in  the  preparation  of  control  assistants. 

The  agriculture  courses  are  three :  (i)  a  five  months' 
course,  from  November  to  March,  for  young  farmers 
who  cannot  give  the  growing  season  to  study ;  (2)  a  nine 
months'  course,  from  November  to  July,  for  long-time 
students;  and  (3)  a  four  months'  continuation  course, 
from  April  to  July,  for  students  who  have  already  taken 
a  short  preparatory  course.  The  subjects  of  instruction 
1  Undervisningsplan  for  1912. 


1 70  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

are  practically  the  same  as  studied  at  Lyngby.  The 
continuation  course,  however,  lays  great  stress  on  prac- 
tical field  work. 

The  course  in  dairying  includes:  chemistry,  physics, 
bacteriology,  farm  accounting,  Danish,  drawing,  gymnas- 
tics, bookkeeping  (for  dairymen),  dairy  culture,  history 
of  agriculture,  dairying,  rural  economics,  and  practical 
work  in  the  bacteriological  laboratory  and  school  dairy. 

There  are  three  courses  for  control  assistants  —  six, 
three,  and  one  month  courses.  These  agricultural  spe- 
cialists devote  their  time  to  giving  expert  advice  to 
the  farmers  of  a  given  community,  and  are  paid  partly 
by  the  community  and  partly  by  the  State.  Such  experts 
may  be  found  all  over  the  land  testing  milk  for  butter-fat, 
or  the  cows  for  tuberculosis.  They  make  soil  examinations 
and  give  advice  in  such  matters  as  what  fertilizers  to  use 
and  what  rations  to  feed.  Their  work  has  been  especially 
effective  among  the  older  farmers  who  have  not  had  the 
opportunities  for  study  now  being  offered.  Students 
taking  control-assistant  courses  have  generally  completed 
some  agricultural  course  before  matriculating  in  the  new 
work.  Here  emphasis  is  laid  on  control  accounting, 
milk  testing,  bacteriology,  and  the  study  of  domestic 
animals. 

Ladelund  Agricultural  School  is  equipped  with  re- 
markably strong  bacteriological  and  chemical  labora- 
tories. The  latter  is  used  extensively  to  analyze  milk, 


WORK  OF  THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS      171 

fertilizers,  and  feeding  stuffs  from  the  farmsteads  far 
and  near.  The  school  owns  a  herd  of  thirty-five  red 
Fiinen  cows,  some  of  which  yielded  16,500  pounds  of 
milk  annually.  This  milk,  together  with  the  milk  from 
many  hundred  red  cows  from  adjoining  farms,  is  manu- 
factured into  butter  and  prepared  for  the  English  markets 
at  the  cooperative  creamery  which  is  a  part  of  the  school 
plant.  This  school  creamery  handled  the  past  year 
fully  one  million  kilograms  of  milk. 

The  Royal  Veterinary  and  Agricultural  Institute.  — 
It  would  scarcely  do  to  close  this  chapter  of  the  book 
without  making  some  mention  of  the  great  mother  school 
of  agriculture,  the  Royal  Veterinary  and  Agricultural 
Institute  (Den  Kongelige  Veterinaer-  og  Landbohojskole), 
situated  almost  at  the  center  of  Copenhagen.  The 
agricultural  schools  discussed  above  are  mere  local 
schools  intended  to  train  practical  farmers.  The  Royal 
Institute,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  school  of  research,  and 
offers  advanced  courses  for  the  training  of  practical 
agriculturists,  horticulturists,  foresters,  surveyors,  veter- 
inaries,  and  blacksmiths.  Most  of  the  teachers  in  the 
local  agricultural  schools  have  been  trained  in  this  great 
school. 

The  college  was  founded  in  1783,  at  first  solely  as  a 
veterinary  school,  but  afterwards  it  was  enlarged  so  as  to 
include  agriculture  and  horticulture.  Still  later  depart- 
ments were  added  for  surveyors  and  foresters.  In  1892 


172  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  1893  the  State  contributed  about  1,000,000  kroner 
for  further  enlargement. 

The  total  number  of  students  ranges  from  four  hundred 
to  six  hundred.  Of  these  about  two  hundred  belong  to 
the  veterinary  group.  The  agricultural  group  is  smaller, 
seldom  passing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The  rest 
are  divided  pretty  evenly  among  the  foresters  and  the 
horticulturists.  The  attendance  is  not  limited  to  Den- 
mark. The  reputation  of  Dr.  T.  Westerman,  Dr.  K. 
Rordam,  Professor  B.  Bang,  the  great  authority  on 
animal  tuberculosis,  and  other  members  of  the  faculty  is 
so  great  that  students  attend  from  all  over  Northern 
Europe  and  even  from  Bulgaria,  Greece,  and  Roumania. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  to  give  the  detailed  work  of  the 
Institute.  It  is  a  great  institution,  comprising  many 
acres  covered  with  massive  buildings,  wherein  are  found 
well-equipped  laboratories,  libraries,  and  museums. 

The  school  forms  the  center  of  all  agricultural  activity 
in  the  kingdom.  Here  is,  for  example,  the  Laboratory  for 
Agricultural-economic  Experiments,  through  which  im- 
portant chemical,  bacteriological,  physiological,  and 
other  experiments  in  dairying,  feeding,  and  breeding  of 
cattle,  swine,  and  poultry  are  carried  on  at  selected  farms 
throughout  the  land.  The  laboratory  pursues  continu- 
ous tests  of  butter  intended  for  export.  Another  im- 
portant arm  of  the  service  is  the  Serum  Laboratory, 
which  prepares  and  distributes  various  sera,  vaccines,  and 


WORK  OF   THE   LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS      173 

preparations  intended  to  stamp  out  disease  of  domestic 
animals. 

Finally,  the  twenty-five  national  experts  in  agricultural 
economics  (Statens  Landokonomiske  Konulenter)  are 
connected  more  or  less  closely  with  the  Royal  Institute. 
Four  do  their  work  under  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture, 
one  is  attached  to  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  and  the  re- 
maining twenty  are  stationed  at  the  scattered  experi- 
ment farms,  and  are  in  direct  touch  with  the  school. 
These  specialists  lend  direct  assistance  to  the  local 
agricultural  schools,  and  in  many  other  ways  promote 
agricultural  improvement. 


CHAPTER  XH 

SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOOLS  OF 
HOUSEHOLD  ECONOMICS 

General  Statement.  —  Three  special  schools  have  been 
established  for  the  sons  and  daughters  of  smallhold 
farmers,  and,  in  some  of  their  courses,  for  the  fathers  and 
mothers  also.  The  smallholders  face  problems  which 
call  for  special  treatment.  Seventy-five  thousand  such 
farmers  must  make  a  living  out  of  from  two  or  three  to 
seven  acres  of  land  each.  As  the  regular  agricultural 
schools  are  organized  to  answer  the  needs  more  partic- 
ularly of  the  gaardmand,  the  husmand  sought  relief  in 
these  schools,  which  have  been  opened  at  Ringsted  in 
Zealand,  Odense  in  Fiinen,  and  Borris  in  Jutland. 

Here  follows  a  brief  description  of  two  of  these  schools 
—  Kaerehave  near  Ringsted,  and  Fyn  Stifts  School  near 
Odense. 

Kaerehave Husmandsskole  (Smallhold  School). — N.  J. 
Nielsen-Klodskov,  who  is  credited  with  originating  the 
movement  for  the  new  schools  —  and  who  is  at  present 
the  principal  of  Kaerehave  —  states  the  purpose  of  the 
schools  as  being  "  to  prepare  leaders  who  shall  make  the 

174 


INTERIOR  OF  A  ONE- TEACHER  SCHOOL. 


^f         v .       -?""!>   /*/% 

±  #*iJi^  /  <^ 

%  -        9 


LECTURE  HALL  AT  K^EREHAVE  SCHOOL  FOR  SMALLHOLDERS. 


GROUP  OF  SUMMER  STUDENTS  AT  K^EREHAVE. 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS  175 

life  of  the  Danish  husmand  so  honored  and  recognized 
that  the  young  sons  and  daughters  of  these  homes  will 
gladly  choose  this  calling  in  preference  to  city  life." 
The  schools  have  indeed  already  done  much  to  make  the 
smallholders'  lot  more  tolerable  and  their  work  more 
profitable.  They  prepare  the  students  for  intensive 
scientific  farming  in  the  same  way  as  the  agricultural 
schools  are  doing.  But  they  go  even  farther  in  stress- 
ing the  auxiliaries  or  side  lines  of  agriculture,  as  chicken 
raising,  rabbit  breeding,  and  bee  culture.  Many  of  the 
smallholds  would  be  unable  to  make  ends  meet  were  it 
not  for  the  chickens,  rabbits,  and  bees.  The  smallhold 
schools  also  lay  an  unusual  stress  on  the  short  courses  of 
eleven  or  more  days  —  time  enough  to  give  people  who 
are  in  the  ruts  inspiration  for  a  new  start ! 

Kaerehave  was  founded  in  1903,  and  during  the  ten 
years  of  its  existence  has  instructed  fifty-five  hundred 
students  ranging  in  age  from  eighteen  to  seventy-five 
years.  The  school  is  the  property  of  Principal  Nielsen- 
Klodskov.  A  gift  of  50,000  kroner  from  a  local  phil- 
anthropist, and  a  State  loan  of  60,000  kroner  made 
its  foundation  possible.  Later  other  friends  of  the 
school  have  given  liberally  to  place  it  on  a  solid  founda- 
tion. At  this  time,  the  school  property,  including  the 
experimental  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres,  is  valued  at  half  a  million  kroner  nearly.  The 
student  capacity  is  two  hundred. 


176  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

The  school  equipment  of  the  smallhold  schools  is  at 
least  equal  to  what  may  be  seen  at  the  best  of  the  agricul- 
tural schools.  Kaerehave  has  a  land  area  divided  about 
as  follows :  ten  acres  used  for  buildings,  campus,  parking, 
flowers,  and  shrubbery;  three  acres  of  beech  and  oak 
forest  fashioned  as  an  outdoor  auditorium  for  summer 
meetings;  seven  acres  divided  into  parcels  and  used 
variously  for  the  breeding  of  chickens,  rabbits,  hogs, 
and  other  fowls  and  animals;  three  acres  planted  to 
orchard  for  experimental  purposes ;  two  acres  given  over 
to  experiments  in  vegetables  and  for  a  school  kitchen 
garden;  four  acres  used  exclusively  for  horticultural 
experiments;  and,  finally,  ninety-six  acres  divided  into 
interesting  smallhold  farms  of  six,  twelve,  eighteen, 
twenty,  and  forty  acres  respectively  —  the  latter  as 
practical  object  lessons  in  how  to  manage  farms  of 
different  size. 

In  variety  of  courses  the  smallhold  schools  take  first 
place.  Kaerehave  offers  the  following  long  and  short 
courses : 

During  the  Winter  Session: 

Six  months'  agricultural  course  for  young  fanners. 
Six  months'  training  course  for  country  artisans. 
Six  months'  horticultural  course  for  young  gardeners. 
Six  months'  course  in  household  economics  for  young 
women. 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS  177 

During  the  Summer  Sessions : 

Five  months'  course  in  household  economics  for  young 
women. 

Six  months'  continuation  course  for  agriculturists. 

Six  months'  course  in  horticulture  for  men. 

Throughout  the  Year  : 

Eighteen  short  courses  of  eleven  working  days  each, 
for  older  men  and  women,  residents  of  Zealand.  New 
courses  open  on  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  each 
month  except  October. 

Agricultural  Courses.  —  The  courses,  it  will  be  seen,  are 
two  of  six  months  each.  The  first  course  covers  the  same 
ground  as  is  covered  in  the  elementary  course  in  the  aver- 
age agricultural  school.  It  includes  work  in  sanitation, 
gymnastics,  Danish,  accounting,  history  of  agriculture, 
plant  culture,  domestic  animals,  farm  bookkeeping,  sur- 
veying, practical  experimentation,  and  manual  training. 

By  special  enactment  of  the  Rigsdag,  a  liberal  sum  of 
money  has  been  set  aside  for  aid  to  worthy  students  of  the 
smallhold  schools.  This  is  more  liberal  than  in  the  other 
schools.  For  example,  a  worthy  young  man  of  small 
means  may  obtain  as  high  as  thirty  kroner  a  month  to 
help  him  through  the  six  months'  course  mentioned 
above.  This  is  nearly  enough  to  pay  his  way  through 
the  winter  half  year. 

But  the  practical  a,nd  theoretical  continuation  course 


i78 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 


is  actually  planned  to  give  the  student  worker  an  income. 
According  to  a  law  passed  in  1908,  students  who  have 
completed  a  course  in  this  or  other  recognized  agricul- 
tural or  folk  high  school  may  ask  admittance  to  the  sum- 
mer continuation  course  and  receive  aid  and  pay  through 
the  Ministry  of  Agriculture. 
The  daily  plan  is  about  as  follows : 


TIME  DEVOTED  TO 
FIELD  WORK 

TIME  DEVOTED  TO 
INSTRUCTION 

TIME  FOR  MEALS 

5-6.25  A.M. 

4-5  P.M. 

6.30-7    A.M.,  coffee. 

7-10.25  A.M. 

5-6  P.M. 

10.30-11  A.M.,  breakfast 

11-2.30  P.M. 

6-7  P.M. 

2.30-4    P.M.,  dinner 

7.30-8    P.M.,  supper 

The  instruction  embraces  agriculture,  plant  culture, 
domestic  animals,  horticulture,  and  the  auxiliaries  of 
agriculture.  Theory  and  practice  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  students  are  divided  into  groups,  each  in  charge  of 
teachers  and  field  managers.  The  practical  work  is 
done  in  the  several  experiment  fields  under  the  direction 
of  the  latter.  During  October  the  daily  instruction  is 
suspended  and  all  time  is  devoted  to  work. 

The  students  receive  ten  kroner  a  month  during  the 
first  five  months  and  fifty  kroner  during  October,  in 
addition  to  free  tuition,  board,  and  lodging.  Such  work 
as  this  is  learning  to  do  by  doing.  It  has  proved  re- 
markably satisfactory.  A  young  man  who  applies  his 
theories  to  the  soil  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow  is  likely  to  get 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  179 

his  agriculture  about  right.  At  least  so  it  has  proved  at 
Kaerehave,  which  sends  out  annually  a  throng  of  practical 
and  industrious  young  farmers  who  are  well  equipped  for 
their  life  work. 

Courses  in  Household  Economics.  —  The  two  courses 
for  young  women  are  thorough  and  fit  their  students  well 
to  take  charge  of  small  farm  homes  where  the  greatest 
economy  must  be  exercised  to  make  ends  meet. 

The  half-year  courses  are  almost  identical,  so  an  out- 
line of  one  may  answer  for  both  of  them. 

Hygiene  and  Sanitation  (Anatomy  of  the  human  body ;  laws 
of  health;  home  sanitation). 

Gymnastics  (New  Danish  gymnastics). 

Danish  (Reading,  composition,  and  themes). 

Accounting  (Common  and  applied  arithmetic). 

History  (History  of  civilization,  history  of  literature,  church 
history,  history  of  the  North,  geography,  and  sociology). 

Song  (Folk  and  patriotic  songs). 

Physics  (Physics  of  everyday  life). 

Chemistry  (Chemistry  of  the  household). 

Housekeeping  (Preparation  of  foods,  baking,  butchering,  prac- 
tical kitchen  work,  drying  and  preserving,  pickling,  etc.). 

Handwork  (Knitting,  darning,  patching,  plain  sewing,  dress- 
making, and  embroidering). 

House  Management  (Relation  to  domestics,  treatment  of 
clothing,  the  laundry). 

Sick  and  Child  Nursing  (Lectures  and  practical  work). 

Sloyd  (Basketry,  patching  shoes,  work  in  pasteboard,  book- 
binding, making  clothes  brushes,  etc.). 

Bookkeeping  (Practical  household  accounting). 

Plant  Culture  (Structure,  life,  treatment,  and  improvement; 


l8o  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

kitchen  plants,  small  and  large  fruit,  windbreaks,  seed  culture 
weeds). 

Domestic  Animals  (Anatomy,  life,  management ;  special  study 
of  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  rabbits,  and  bees). 

Practical  Work  (Practical  application  in  all  the  above  so  far 
as  possible). 

This  course  is  seen  to  include  considerable  work  of  an 
agricultural  nature.  The  housewife  at  the  average 
smallhold  works  her  own  garden  and  may,  in  a  pinch, 
help  in  the  field.  A  considerable  number  of  women 
still  work  regularly  in  the  Danish  fields;  but  these  are 
chiefly  Polish  and  Russian  girls,  who  are  glad  to  do  a 
man's  work,  thereby  escaping  the  worse  condition  of  their 
old  home.  Needy  young  women  may  procure  aid  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  young  men.  In  this  way  they  may 
draw  from  the  State,  upon  application  through  their 
home  commune,  as  high  as  thirty  kroner  monthly  for 
not  to  exceed  five  months. 

Eleven-day  Courses  for  Mature  Men  and  Women.  — 
By  far  the  most  interesting  are  the  short  courses  of  eleven 
days  each.  A  special  appropriation  has  been  made  to 
aid  men  and  women  of  small  means  to  take  advantage 
of  them.  Any  person  who  by  reason  of  his  occupation 
can  profit  by  such  a  course  is  eligible  to  aid.  The  total 
cost  of  the  course  is  thirty  kroner.  And  the  amount  of 
aid  is  usually  enough  to  cover  both  this  and  such  other 
expenses  as  railroad  fare  to  and  from  the  school. 

The  practical  lessons  learned  in  the  short  courses  are 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOLS  l8l 

unquestionably  many  and  important ;  but  the  inspiration 
gained  from  contact  with  other  people  with  problems  to 
solve,  is  even  greater.  Many  a  smallholder  has  re- 
turned home  from  the  short  courses  with  a  new  outlook 
on  life,  and  with  courage  in  the  heart  for  renewed  effort. 
"  When  my  wife  returned  home  from  her  eleven  days  at 
Kaerehave,"  says  one  man,  "  she  looked  eleven  years 
younger  than  when  she  left  home."  And  so  it  is  down 
the  line  with  others. 

Fyn  Stifts  School  near  Odense.  —  This  school,  also 
known  under  the  name  of  Odense  Husmandsskole,  was 
organized  by  the  United  Associations  of  Smallholders  in 
the  Island  of  Fiinen  in  1908.  The  institution  is  leased 
to  the  present  principal  for  ten  years,  as  the  universal 
experience  in  Denmark  has  been  that  the  success  or 
failure  of  all  these  schools  is  closely  bound  up  with  the 
individuality  of  the  one  man  at  the  head. 

The  purpose  of  the  school  may  be  stated  from  the 
school  catalogue  in  these  words :  "  It  is  to  give  the 
students  a  good  spiritual  awakening  and  general  guidance, 
and  to  offer  them  such  knowledge  of  the  professional 
subjects  as  shall  enable  them  to  take  their  place  in  the 
body  politic  and  community  as  independent  citizens, 
as  farmers,  in  such  ways  that  they  may  live  economically 
independent  lives,  and  make  the  most  of  their  lot  as 
smallholders.  The  purpose  is,  moreover,  to  give  such 
knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  auxiliary  lines  of 


l82  RURAL  DENMARK   AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

agriculture  that  the  smallholder  may  be  enabled  to  keep 
his  entire  family  together,  each  member  to  work  at  some 
specific  avocation  at  home." 

The  instruction  is  similar  to  that  of  Kaerehave.  It 
embraces  long  and  short  courses  for  young  farmers,  with 
special  application  to  smallholds ;  two  courses  for  young 
women  to  aid  them  in  their  difficult  role  as  helpmeets  on 
these  small  farms ;  two  courses  for  artisans  —  carpen- 
ters, masons,  etc.  —  and  two  courses  for  control  assist- 
ants. 

But  here,  too,  of  greatest  interest  are  a  number  of 
short  courses  for  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  living 
in  the  open  country.  At  this  point  the  school  is  very 
close  to  the  people,  and  why  should  not  every  school 
project  itself  into  the  midst  of  the  people,  to  aid  in  solving 
their  daily  life  problems?  The  investigator  found  at 
Odense  middle-aged  and  old  men  and  women  mingling 
in  classes  with  young  men  and  women  in  their  best 
years  —  the  ages  ranging  from  twenty-five  to  seventy- 
five  years  —  but  all  with  life  problems  to  solve.  Some 
come  to  get  new  insight  into  potato  culture,  others  make 
a  two-weeks'  study  of  soil  from  their  own  land,  or  others 
take  up  bee  culture,  rabbit  breeding,  or  chicken  raising ; 
and  they  all  gain  enough  stored-up  inspiration  to  tide 
them  over  the  hard  places  of  the  future. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  this  school  or  Kaerehave 
attracted  us  the  most.  Both  of  them  are  well  built  and 


SPECIAL    AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  183 

well  equipped.  Their  grounds  and  experiment  plots 
were  especially  full  of  interest.  The  school  lies  in  an 
area  of  sixty-five  acres.  The  main  building  is  set  in  a 
beautiful  lawn  of  several  acres.  In  the  left  foreground 
is  a  complete  model  smallholding  of  seven  areas.  In  the 
right  foreground  are  the  outbuildings  of  the  larger  farm 
(twenty-five  acres)  which  furnishes  the  school  with  vege- 
tables, milk,  and  meats.  There  is  also  a  horticultural 
experiment  station  of  some  seventeen  acres,  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  small  and  large  fruit,  including  a  large  kitchen 
garden  and  individual  garden  plots  for  students.  An- 
other part  of  the  farm  has  a  modern  hennery,  a  rabbi  try, 
and  an  apiary.  There  is  even  an  area  of  mulberry  trees 
for  silkworm  culture. 

The  model  smallholding  of  seven  acres  deserves  a  few 
words  in  passing.  Upon  it  a  model  home  has  been 
erected,  adapted  to  the  size  of  the  farm.  It  contains  a 
suite  of  four  rooms  for  the  family,  a  barn  for  the  cows  and 
stall  room  for  a  horse,  besides  room  for  grain,  fodder,  and 
machinery.  And  all  of  this  is  under  one  roof  —  but  it  is 
all  built  so  substantially  and  is  kept  so  clean  that  it 
never  becomes  unsanitary  or  a  nuisance.  Over  the  stall 
of  each  cow  is  kept  a  record  of  the  weekly  production  in 
milk  and  butter-fat;  and  if  a  cow  should  fall  below  a 
certain  minimum  it  would  go  immediately  to  the  butcher. 
Because  the  smallholder's  land  is  very  limited,  dwarf 
apple  trees  and  long-stemmed  cherry  trees  are  grown, 


1 84  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

the  latter  often  along  the  driveways  where  they  combine 
the  useful  with  the  attractive.  Dwarf  apple  trees  are 
planted  from  nine  to  ten  feet  apart.  Some  of  them 
yield  amazingly.  A  perfect  system  of  rotation  is  fol- 
lowed in  the  smallhold.  Every  foot  of  ground  is  utilized 
and  records  are  kept  of  everything  produced  and  sold, 
and  everything  purchased.  The  young  farmers  who 
make  a  special  study  of  this  model  smallhold  are  able  to 
attack  their  own  farm  problems  with  eyes  wide  open. 

Rural  Schools  of  Household  Economics.  —  Separate 
schools  to  prepare  country  girls  for  their  later  life  respon- 
sibilities is  a  comparatively  new  thing  in  Denmark, 
although  housemother  schools  have  been  popular  in  the 
towns  for  many  years.  Not  more  than  a  dozen  rural 
schools  of  this  sort  are  yet  recognized  by  the  state, 
though  seventeen  or  more  are  in  operation. 

All  of  the  folk  high  schools  offer  summer  courses  for 
young  women,  especially  of  the  inspirational  order,  and 
several  thousand  students  attend  them  annually.  Class- 
work  in  sewing  and  needlework,  lectures  on  sanitation 
and  other  important  themes,  are  included  in  these 
summer  courses.  But  this  has  never  been  considered 
sufficient  preparation  for  the  responsibilities  of  house- 
keeping. It  is  an  old  custom  in  Denmark  to  send  the 
young  women,  as  soon  as  betrothed,  to  some  large 
country  home  —  the  manse  or  the  home  of  the  country 
squire  —  to  take  a  year's  work  in  practical  housekeeping. 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  185 

This  has  unquestionably  been  a  fine  training  for  Danish 
housewives.  But  even  the  best  homes  are  not  expected 
to  know  many  of  the  latest  things  which  science  is 
thrusting  upon  the  schools  and  which  schools  alone  can 
supply.  With  the  demand  for  agricultural  schools  in 
which  to  train  scientific  young  farmers  came  a  natural 
insistence  that  the  helpmeets  of  these  young  men  should 
be  afforded  equal  opportunities  —  hence  the  rural  schools 
of  household  economics. 

The  schools  are  built  in  the  open  country  or  on  the 
outskirts  of  some  rural-minded  village.  It  usually  has 
land  enough  —  three  to  five  acres  —  to  furnish  vege- 
tables, milk,  and  butter  for  school  consumption.  A  first- 
class  vegetable  and  fruit  garden  is  used  as  a  laboratory 
where  the  young  women  do  much  individual  work.  The 
flower  garden,  too,  receives  its  share  of  attention. 

The  young  women  are  expected  to  reside  at  the  school 
during  their  continuance  there.  The  courses  are  usually 
six  months  in  length.  This  enables  the  schools  —  which 
often  run  the  entire  year  —  to  train  two  sets  of  students 
each  year.  The  buildings  are  equipped  with  model 
kitchen,  dining  room,  living  room,  and  chambers, 
all  of  them  intended  as  models  for  practical  farm 
homes. 

Some  idea  of  the  scope  and  thoroughness  of  the  schools 
may  be  obtained  from  the  following  brief  description  of 
one  such  school  —  Haraldsborg  near  Roskilde. 


1 86  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

Haraldsborg  School  of  Household  Economics.  —  This 
school  lies  on  the  beautiful  ridge  of  hills  overlooking 
Roskilde  Fjord,  about  twenty  minutes'  walk  from  the 
railway  station.  The  housemother,  Fru  Anna  Bransager- 
Nielsen,  limits  the  number  of  resident  students  to  thirty- 
five,  who  are  treated  as  members  of  the  family.  These 
are  grouped  for  convenience  into  five  families  of  seven 
each.  At  the  time  of  our  visit,  three  families  had 
charge  of  the  model  kitchen,  one  family  was  occupied 
in  the  living-rooms  and  bed  chambers,  and  the  re- 
maining family  was  hard  at  work  in  the  dressmaking 
rooms. 

The  school  is  a  marvel  of  neatness.  What  seemed 
most  valuable  in  this  system  of  preparation  was  not  so 
much  what  the  young  women  learned  to  do,  as  the  right 
habits  of  life  inculcated  with  the  work  of  the  day. 

Haraldsborg  is  large  enough  to  produce  the  vegetables, 
milk,  meats,  etc.,  consumed  at  the  school.  Four  acres 
are  devoted  to  lawn  and  flowers,  and  ten  acres  to  the 
farm,  which  keeps  a  span  of  horses,  a  couple  of  cows,  and 
some  pigs. 

The  course  of  study  includes  the  following  subjects: 

Natural  Science  (Chemistry  and  physics,  with  special  reference 
to  the  household). 

Housekeeping  (Preparation  of  foods;  food  values,  theory  of 
household  economics ;  household  accounting ;  baking,  butchering, 
curing  meats ;  pickling,  cleaning  house,  dining-room  work,  wash- 
ing, and  ironing). 


SPECIAL  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  187 

Handwork  (Plain  sewing,  dressmaking,  patching,  darning,  fine 
needlework  and  embroidery) . 

Sanitation  (Study  of  human  anatomy;  laws  of  health,  home 
sanitation). 

Garden  Culture  (Care  of  kitchen,  fruit  and  flower  gardens, 
preparing  vegetables  and  fruit  for  keeping  and  winter  use). 

Other  Subjects  (Song,  gymnastics,  literature,  rural  sociology, 
and  reviews  in  any  of  the  elementary  subjects  wherein  the  students 
may  prove  deficient). 


C.     FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS 
CHAPTER  XIII 

THEIR  EVOLUTION 

Influence  of  the  Folk  High  Schools  in  the  Agricultural 
Evolution.  —  The  four  score  folk  high  schools,  reared  here 
and  there  over  the  land,  have  been  the  leavening  force 
at  work  in  the  national  lump,  bringing  about  most  of 
the  changes  enumerated  in  Part  I  of  this  book.  They 
came  into  being  at  a  time  when  the  nation  was  politi- 
cally distraught  and  needed  a  healing  and  unifying  influ- 
ence. This  the  schools  furnished.  They  succeeded  in 
harmonizing  the  discordant  elements  and  binding  all 
classes  together  in  the  common  bond  of  love  of  fatherland. 
Duty  and  opportunity  became  watchwords.  The  edu- 
cated classes  seized  upon  this  opportunity  and  gave  the 
best  they  had  in  them  for  their  country;  the  ignorant 
became  educated  and  in  time  formed  a  great  working 
force  for  a  better  Denmark. 

Just  how  the  folk  high  schools  have  been  instrumental 
in  Denmark's  political  rebirth,  and  how  they  have  led  the 
way  to  its  present  economic  independence  will  be  told 
in  detail  later.  Let  it  suffice  now  to  say  that  while  the 

1 88 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  189 

schools  do  not  immediately  emphasize  the  so-called 
worldly-practical,  they  do  give  something  instead  that 
has  proved  of  vastly  greater  importance  —  a  broad 
culture,  furnishing  its  possessor  with  a  keen  world-out- 
look, making  him  altruistic,  strong  in  love  of  God  and 
fellow  man,  of  home  and  soil  and  native  land.  Above 
everything  else,  the  life  lived  in  the  schools  imparts  a 
deep  confidence  and  trust  in  man  to  man,  thereby 
making  possible  all  the  remarkable  cooperative  enter- 
prises spoken  of  elsewhere.  And  last  of  mention,  the 
folk  school  life  has  made  clear  to  its  students  that  success 
in  life  should  be  measured  by  standards  other  and  higher 
than  mere  money  standards,  and  with  such  practical 
results  that  achievement  for  land  and  people  is  in  Den- 
mark esteemed  to-day  far  above  successful  accumulation 
of  wealth.  The  teacher,  the  preacher,  the  economist, 
who  gives  his  best  for  his  country  holds  higher  rank 
than  the  man  who  has  heaped  up  great  fortunes. 

Testimony  of  Leading  Economists  and  Schoolmen.  — 
That  the  folk  high  schools  are  to  be  credited  with  organiz- 
ing and  systematizing  Danish  agriculture  seems  almost 
incredible  at  first.  Foreign  educators  and  parliamentary 
and  congressional  commissions  have  come  to  study  the 
schools  in  skeptical  mood  and  have  gone  away  convinced. 
One  needs  go  no  farther  than  take  the  testimony  of  the 
Danish  leaders  themselves.  On  all  his  trip  of  investiga- 
tion, the  writer  could  find  no  man  willing  to  give  the  credit 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

to  an  organization  other  than  the  folk  high  schools.  To 
be  sure,  many  would  point  to  contributory  causes  and 
the  good  work  of  the  local  agricultural  schools ;  but  even 
these  are  the  "rightful  children"  of  the  folk  high 
schools. 

Says  Poul  la  Cour,  the  late  lamented  scientist  of 
Askov :  "  Just  as  an  enrichment  of  the  soil  gives  the  best 
conditions  for  the  seeds  sown  in  it,  so  the  horizon-broaden- 
ing, well-grounded  training  of  the  folk  high  schools 
provides  the  surest  basis  for  business  capacity,  and  not 
the  least  so  in  the  case  of  the  coming  farmer."  So  much 
for  the  general  cultural  value  of  the  folk  high  school 
education.  Speaking  on  another  occasion  in  regard  to 
the  almost  phenomenal  spread  of  cooperation,  he  says : 
"  The  resoluteness  and  capacity  with  which  Danish 
farmers  passed  over  from  making  a  quantity  of  poor 
butter  on  the  smaller  farms  and  holdings  up  and  down 
the  country  to  the  manufacturing  in  cooperative  dairies 
of  a  butter  of  almost  uniform  fineness  is  no  doubt  the 
consequence  of  their  having  had  expert  leaders  like  the 
late  N.  J.  Fjord,  without  whom  no  progress  could  have 
been  made.  But  the  question  remains  how  a  great 
agricultural  population  in  so  short  a  time  could  be  induced 
to  follow  directions  and  carry  the  matter  through." 
By  way  of  getting  an  answer  to  his  query,  Mr.  la  Cour 
sent  out  a  questionnaire  to  nine  hundred  and  seventy 
cooperative  dairies  and  two  hundred  and  sixty  dairies  of 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  IQI 

a  private  nature.  Unfortunately,  only  four  hundred  and 
thirty-six  of  these  made  answer;  but  even  this  was 
sufficient  to  give  a  good  idea  of  how  these  leaders  are 
trained.  The  answers  showed  that  of  the  men  in  charge 
of  the  plants,  47  per  cent  had  attended  some  folk  high 
school,  62  per  cent  some  dairy  school,  24  per  cent  had 
attended  some  local  agricultural  school,  and  90  per  cent 
had  been  at  one  or  another  of  these  schools,  which  are  all 
imbued  with  some  degree  of  Grundtvig's  philosophy. 

Principal  Alfred  Poulsen  of  Ryslinge  speaks  in  similar 
vein  on  the  same  subject.  "  The  quickness  and  preci- 
sion," he  says,  "  with  which  this  change  was  carried  out 
is  due  partly  to  the  leading  agriculturists  of  our  country 
and  partly  to  the  high  schools.  By  their  help  a  set  of 
young,  energetic  men  were  brought  up  to  understand 
the  importance  of  the  new  ideas,  and  to  secure  the  success 
of  the  new  principle  of  cooperative  manufacture.  Some 
of  them,  after  a  very  short  course  of  professional  instruc- 
tion, were  able  to  undertake  the  responsible  work  as 
managers  of  the  larger  and  smaller  cooperative  dairies."  l 

Hon.  M.  P.  Blem  of  Copenhagen,  one  of  the  keenest 
of  the  modern  agricultural  leaders,  in  conversation  with 
the  writer  declared  that  "  the  greatest  factor  in  our 
national  agricultural  life  is  the  high  schools ;  for  at  these 
a  staff  of  able  young  men  and  women  is  annually  being 
trained  and  sent  out,  men  and  women  who,  with  open 

1  Poulsen,  "The  Danish  Popular  High  School,"  p.  14. 


192  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

eye  and  undaunted  courage,  go  out  into  practical  farming 
life  and  with  energy  and  understanding  perform  the 
work  they  have  been  trained  and  perfected  in."  * 

Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  who  has  himself  made  a  careful 
study  of  agriculture  in  Denmark,  says :  "A  friend  of 
mine  who  was  studying  the  Danish  system  of  state  aid 
to  agriculture,  found  this  [that  the  extraordinary  national 
progress  was  due  to  the  folk  high  schools]  to  be  the 
opinion  of  the  Danes  of  all  classes,  and  was  astounded 
at  the  achievements  of  the  associations  of  farmers  not 
only  in  the  manufacture  of  butter,  but  in  a  far  more 
difficult  undertaking,  the  manufacture  of  bacon  in  large 
factories  equipped  with  all  the  most  modern  machinery 
and  appliances  which  science  had  devised  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  finished  article.  He  at  first  concluded 
that  this  success  in  a  highly  technical  industry  by  bodies 
of  farmers  indicated  a  very  perfect  system  of  technical 
education.  But  he  soon  found  another  cause.  As  one 
of  the  leading  educators  and  agriculturists  of  the  country 
put  it  to  him  :  '  It's  not  technical  instruction,  it's  the 
humanities.'  "  2 

A  great  mass  of  similar  evidence  could  be  furnished 
to  show  how  the  folk  high  school  influence  is  viewed  by 
those  intimate  with  the  schools ;  but  enough  testimony 

1  See  also  M.  P.  Blem,  Report  of  the  Cooperative  Movement  in 
Denmark,  p.  7. 

1  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  "Ireland  in  the  New  Century." 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  193 

has  already  been  introduced  to  satisfy  the  reader  on  the 
point  of  the  importance  of  the  part  played  by  them  in 
Danish  national  life.  It  is  now  time  to  ask  just  how  these 
schools  originated,  and  how  they  have  grown  into  their 
present  power  and  influence.  These  queries  will  be 
answered  in  the  following  section. 

Nikolai  Frederik  Severin  Grundtvig  (1783-1872).  — 
To  tell  the  story  of  the  beginnings  of  the  Danish  folk 
high  schools  is  virtually  to  unfold  the  narrative  of  the 
long  and  useful  life  of  its  originator,  Bishop  Grundtvig. 
This  master  mind  dominated  the  educational  and  theo- 
logical world  in  the  North  for  nearly  three  quarters  of  a 
century,  and  placed  the  indelible  stamp  of  his  spirit 
upon  the  national  life  in  Denmark  and,  to  a  lesser  degree, 
in  Norway  and  Sweden.  Poet,  philosopher,  historian, 
and  educator,  not  only  did  he  become  the  schools' 
spiritual  father,  but  his  philosophy  of  civilization  has 
come  to  form  the  pedagogical  foundation  of  the  schools, 
and  his  religious  zeal  has  given  them  their  marked  charac- 
teristics, making  these  schools  distinctive  in  the  educa- 
tional world. 

Grundtvig  came  of  an  ancient,  worthy  family.  From 
his  mother,  who  sprang  from  an  ancestry  renowned  in 
national  annals,  he  inherited  a  love  of  historic  research. 
He  lived  in  a  world  of  books  till  the  age  of  nine,  when, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  day,  he  entered  the  house- 
hold of  a  minister  near  Vejle,  on  the  edge  of  the  gloomy 


IQ4  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

Jutish  heather,  where  he  spent  six  years  in  preparation 
for  the  Latin  school.  While  roaming  the  heather,  young 
Grundtvig  became  intimate  with  the  somber  life  of  the 
folk  living  on  the  monotonous  moor,  a  fact  which  stood 
him  well  in  stead  when  his  life  work  for  the  common 
people  began. 

In  1798  he  entered  the  Latin  school  at  Aarhus  and 
spent  there,  as  he  later  tells,  two  wasted  years.  For  this 
institution  was  one  of  the  narrow,  scholastic  type  preva- 
lent in  those  days,  where  natural  boys  were  compelled  to 
absorb  much  Latin  and  catechism  through  a  meaningless 
memoriter  process.  The  result  of  it  all  was  that  from 
this  time  onward  Grundtvig  became  the  irreconcilable 
foe  of  the  old  aristocratic  Latin  schools  with  their  deaden- 
ing formalism  and  disdain  for  the  masses  of  the  people. 
In  1800  he  came  to  Copenhagen  to  prepare  for  his  univer- 
sity entrance  examinations.  Here  he  almost  immediately 
fell  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Steffens,  the  friend  of 
Goethe,  Schiller,  Fichte,  and  Schelling,  through  whose 
inspiring  lectures  he  was  first  carried  into  a  new  thought 
world  of  philosophy,  history,  and  literature,  which  was 
later  destined  to  change  his  entire  life  and  the  thought- 
life  of  the  nation. 

An  impossible  love  affair  awakened  the  poetic  in 
Grundtvig's  nature,  who  despairingly  strove  to  drown  his 
passion  in  Goethe,  Schiller,  and  Shakespeare.  His  poems 
and  translations  soon  began  to  appear  in  leading  periodi- 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  IQ5 

cals.  Especially  did  he  enter  heart  and  soul  upon  the 
study  of  Norse  mythology,  and  in  1808  his  great  work, 
"  Norse  Mythology,"  was  published.  His  fame  im- 
mediately spread  over  northern  Europe,  Frederik 
Schlegel  in  his  enthusiasm  proclaiming  Grundtvig  Den- 
mark's greatest  poet. 

These  had  been  trying  years  for  the  war-pressed  nation. 
The  unwelcome  alliance  with  Bonaparte ;  the  desperate 
naval  battle  with  Lord  Nelson's  English  fleet  in  Copen- 
hagen harbor ;  later  the  bombardment  of  Copenhagen ; 
the  desperate  though  hopeless  resistance  of  the  remnants 
of  a  one-time  proud  naval  force  —  all  had  a  paralyzing 
effect  on  the  feeling  of  nationality  among  the  masses. 
At  least  so  it  seemed  to  the  young  enthusiast,  who  with 
sorrow  contrasted  the  time  in  which  he  lived  with  the 
days  when  Danish  ravens  scoured  every  sea  and  Norse 
viking  names  struck  terror  in  craven  hearts.  The  people, 
he  felt,  no  longer  knew  the  glorious  story  of  Valhalla  and 
the  ancient  gods.  Their  very  origin,  as  sons  of  the  free, 
unconquered  North,  even  seemed  to  have  lost  its  mean- 
ing. He  must  write  and  translate  and  through  books 
acquaint  this  people  with  their  own  glorious  past  and  so 
inspire  them  to  future  deeds!  Thus  began  long  years  of 
literary  activity,  making  him,  perhaps,  the  most  volu- 
minous of  Danish  writers. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  manuscripts  would  have 
filled  at  least  30,000  octavo  pages  he  was  in  no  sense  a 


196  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

bookworm.  His  was  properly  a  great  pan-Germanic 
spirit,  ever  striving  for  expression.  It  has  been  said  of 
Grundtvig  "  that  he  dreamed  so  mightily  that  he  made 
a  world  thereof."  His  researches,  so  patiently  carried  on, 
were  not  for  the  mere  love  of  study  but  for  the  fruits  he 
could  bring  the  people.  Poetry  was  to  him  the  language 
of  the  heart,  through  which  he  best  could  touch  respond- 
ing chords  in  the  hearts  of  others. 

Meanwhile,  Grundtvig  had  completed  his  theological 
education  and  entered  the  active  pastorate.  Almost 
immediately  he  found  himself  plunged  into  a  struggle 
against  all  that  was  false  and  formal  in  the  state  church. 
This  led  to  an  open  break  with  officialdom  and  high 
church  dignitaries.  Finally,  the  pulpit  was  closed 
against  his  polemics,  but  not  before  the  demand  for 
reforms  had  gone  too  far  to  be  checked ;  and  Grundtvig 
lived  to  see  a  new  freedom  in  church  organization  adopted 
by  the  country,  in  keeping  with  the  other  reforms  in- 
spired by  him. 

In  1828  Grundtvig  retired  from  the  active  ministry, 
and  the  historian,  poet,  and  student  of  research  in  him 
again  steps  into  the  foreground.  During  the  great 
activity  of  this  period  he  translated  Snorre  Sturlason's 
Heimskringla  from  the  Icelandic,  and  put  Saxo  Gramma- 
ticus'  Chronicles  of  Denmark  from  Lathi  into  homely 
Danish.  Similarly,  he  translated  Beowulf  from  the 
Anglo-Saxon  into  Danish.  These  gigantic  tasks  were 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  1 97 

inspired  by  a  love  for  the  masses,  in  a  desire  to  make  the 
great  literature  of  the  Old  North  available  to  all.  His 
purpose  was  to  bring  the  glorious  past  to  the  common 
people  in  such  simple  and  attractive  garb  that  the 
slumbering  memories  of  a  great  ancestry  would  stir  the 
discouraged  among  them  to  renewed  effort.  Nor  were 
his  hopes  misplaced,  as  shall  be  seen. 

About  this  time,  Grundtvig  made  several  trips  into 
England,  where  he  pursued  his  researches  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  Here  it  came  to  him  as  an  unpleasant 
shock  that  England  had  a  throbbing,  pulsating  folk  life 
which  stood  in  striking  contrast  to  the  sluggish  indiffer- 
ence of  the  peasantry  at  home.  Again  he  had  found  his 
spur  to  further  effort.  When  he  returned  home  it  was  as 
a  Columbus  "  with  sunshine  in  his  eye  and  a  new  world 
in  his  heart." 

"  Awake !    Awake !    O  Danish  Knighthood, 
Day  and  Deed  spell  Hero  Rhyme." 

"  By  this  time,"  says  Dr.  Hollmann,  "  he  was  clear  in 
his  own  mind  that  books  are  the  shadows  only  of  the  liv- 
ing word ;  his  own  experience  had  clearly  enough  taught 
him  that  no  people  can  be  roused  by  books  alone,  even 
though  these  may  be  ever  so  soulful.  He  even  went  so 
far  as  to  smile  at  his  own  impatience,  that  neither  the 
old  nor  the  new  writings  could  give  new  life  to  the  Norse 
spirit  and  the  Danish  tree  of  life." l  From  now  on, 
1  Hollmann,  Dr.  A.  H.,  "Den  Danske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  20. 


198  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

plans  for  a  school  that  could  bind  all  classes  together 
through  a  common  folk  culture  were  gradually  taking 
form  in  his  mind.  At  first  it  looked  as  though  Grundtvig 
might  organize  the  work  in  person ;  but  this  was  not  to 
be.  He  became  reconciled  to  stand  as  the  great  inspirer 
and  left  the  practical  realization  to  others,  perhaps 
better  fitted  for  this  phase  of  the  work. 

Grundtvig  and  the  Gospel  of  Youth.  — "  Youth," 
asserts  Grundtvig,  "  is  the  creative  period  of  the  spirit 
when  the  great  hopes  and  visions  appear  that  foreshadow 
the  period  of  maturity,  and  when  the  soul  reaches  out 
for  the  cloak  that  fits  it."  He  would  place  the  youth 
under  inspired  and  inspiring  teachers  at  a  time  when 
impressionable  to  the  noblest  ideals  in  life.  There  must 
be  an  awakening  of  the  spirit.  The  youth  are  to  be 
taken  in  hand  towards  the  close  of  the  period  of  adoles- 
cence when  all  young  people  are  ready  '  to  hitch  their 
little  wagon  to  a  star,'  when  the  fires  of  hope  burn  bright. 
To  get  them  to  pause,  to  think,  to  ask  themselves  the 
questions,  "  What  are  we?  "  and  "  Why  are  we?  "  —to 
turn  introspectively  and  examine  into  their  own  souls  in 
search  of  the  purpose  of  life  ...  all  this  is  the  first  work 
of  the  "  inspirers."  With  some  glimmer  of  comprehen- 
sion of  life  purpose  comes  the  birth  of  altruism  and  love 
of  fellow  man.  Now  the  awakening  is  carried  on  apace. 
It  is  to  be  Christian,  historical,  national,  and  individual. 
Such  work  calls  for  great  teachers  —  men  who  are 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  199 

"  gifted  with  enthusiasm  for  what  is  historically  true, 
ethically  noble,  and  esthetically  beautiful  " ;  and  for  "a 
continuation  of  the  best  home  influence,  only  intensified 
and  broadened."  l  Denmark  has  been  fortunate  in  such 
teachers,  and  the  schools,  in  their  daily  life,  furnish  the 
intensified  home  influence. 

Grundtvig  abhorred  the  narrow  humanistic  schools  of 
his  day.  He  called  them  "  the  black  school  "  and  the 
"  school  for  death."  "  The  chief  characteristic  of  the 
prevailing  humanism,"  he  asserted,  "  was  to  turn  its 
back  upon  the  homelike  and  '  folkly.  '  The  Roman 
flood,  as  he  called  the  learning  of  the  day,  was  a  tragedy 
which  had  robbed  the  north-European  nations  of  much 
of  what  was  innermost  and  best.  The  schools  had  given 
stones  instead  of  bread,  and  filled  the  youth  with  ques- 
tionable impressions  of  a  foreign  culture  at  the  expense  of 
their  own  virile  northern  culture. 

Grundtvig  had  practical  reasons  as  well  for  com- 
bating the  so-called  learned  schools  of  his  day.  "  All 
these  institutions  have  the  fault,"  he  said,  "  that  they 
embitter  their  students  against  ordinary  work-a-day 
activities,  so  that  they  lose  all  desire  to  handle  hammer, 
tongs,  and  plow,  and  can  no  longer  feel  happy  in  the 
ordinary  manual  activities." 2  The  learned  schools 
trained  the  few  to  become  professors  in  the  university  and 

1  Bay,  John  Christian,  Conference  for  Education  in  the  South,  1911, 
p.  163.  *  "Smaaskrifter,"  p.  181. 


200  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

to  hold  "  fat  livings  "  in  government  office.  Meanwhile, 
the  masses  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  folk 
high  school  philosophy  came  as  a  powerful  protest  against 
this  prevailing  system  and  led  to  its  ultimate  overthrow. 

Grundtvig's  Early  Ideas  of  What  the  School  should 
Be.  —  The  great  bishop  never  outlined  a  definite  plan 
for  the  school;  but  he  did  promulgate,  from  time  to 
time,  as  his  ideas  on  the  subject  became  crystallized, 
the  great  working  principles  around  which  the  school  is 
built.  It  was  left  for  Kristen  Kold  and  others  to  make 
the  practical  application  in  the  school. 

First  of  all,  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  schools  must  not 
be  "  examinations  followed  by  a  government  living  " 
but  rather  a  culture,  an  enlightenment,  which  shall  be 
its  own  reward.  The  main  thing  must  be,  "  that  which 
is  living,  mutual,  and  simple  "  —  that  which  every  man 
can  afford  to  seek  because  it  is  both  useful  and  will  add 
zest  and  enjoyment  to  life. 

Secondly,  books  must  not  be  unduly  emphasized. 
This  does  not  mean  the  wholesale  condemnation  of 
books,  but  is  a  protest  against  the  useless  heaping  up  of 
book-learning  for  no  other  purpose,  seemingly,  than  to 
pass  an  examination.  Books  will  continue  as  necessary 
compendiums,  that  is  true.  But  in  the  new  schools, 
the  voice  from  the  speaker's  stand  shall  wing  the  teacher's 
personality  to  the  students,  so  that  individual  students 
may  feel  their  own  personality  quickened  into  life. 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  2OI 

Again,  the  method  used  in  presenting  the  subjects  is  as 
important,  if  not  more  so,  than  the  subject  matter. 
Grundtvig  exclaims,  "It  is  in  nowise  enough  —  al- 
though necessary  —  in  the  Danish  folk  high  schools  to 
strive  to  acquaint  the  youth  with  the  mother  tongue, 
with  history,  sociology,  and  statistics,  with  constitution 
and  law,  administration  and  municipal  affairs ;  for  this 
might  all  be  done  in  such  a  stiff,  dead,  tiresome,  and  even 
'  un-Danish  '  way  that  the  folk  school  would  become  an 
empty  shadow  or  a  land  plague."  l  The  school  was  to  be 
based  on  the  historic-poetical  and  above  all  have  a 
decided  national  stamp.  That  Grundtvig  should  em- 
phasize the  national  element  above  everything  else  is 
readily  explainable  in  the  Danish  struggle  for  national 
existence,  crowded  and  threatened  by  the  world  powers 
as  was  the  kingdom. 

The  use  of  the  Danish  "  folkelig,"  which  everywhere 
appears  in  Grundtvig's  system,  carries  a  deeper  meaning 
than  our  "  popular."  The  German  "  Volkisch  "  comes 
nearer  to  expressing  it.  It  is  "  popular,"  but  it  is  "  pop- 
ular "  in  its  nationalistic  setting.  When  Grundtvig 
emphasizes  the  national  element  as  necessary  in  the 
schools,  he  "  meant  thereby,  what  he  himself  was  —  a 
deep  national  personality,  grown  up  in  the  historic  soil 
of  the  fatherland,  bearing  the  imprint  of  its  language, 
and  soul-inspired  by  its  '  folkly  '  peculiarities."  2 

1  "Smaaskrifter,"  p.  181.       *  "Den  Danske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  25. 


202  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

In  consequence,  the  folk  high  school  should  concern 
itself  first  of  all  with  the  fatherland,  with  its  nature, 
its  history,  its  needs,  its  occupations,  and  its  shortcom- 
ings. First  in  the  list  of  subjects  must  come  the  mother 
tongue  and  all  that  belongs  to  it  —  literature,  song, 
music,  and  the  like. 

The  folk  high  school  has  been  highly  successful  in 
teaching  its  students  to  express  themselves  in  pure, 
ringing  Danish,  and  to  sing  the  virile  folk  songs  and  hero 
ballads.  Likewise,  it  has  created  a  taste  for  the  fine 
old  Norse  Sagas  and  the  best  in  more  recent  literature. 
All  this  may  seem  to  vary  in  nowise  from  the  ordinary 
curriculum.  One  must  be  in  the  schools  and  follow  the 
methods  used,  and  feel  the  spirit  of  the  students  to  under- 
stand fully.  Grundtvig  himself  used  the  purest  of  Danish 
and  his  prose  writings  have  had  a  purifying  effect  on  the 
language;  his  psalms  are  sung  everywhere  in  Danish 
churches,  and  his  folk  songs,  to  this  day,  hold  first  place 
in  the  average  home. 

To  digress  a  little  here,  Dr.  Hollmann,  who  has  studied 
the  schools  carefully,  has  this  to  say  about  the  remarkable 
influence  of  language  study  in  the  folk  high  schools  on 
the  nation  at  large :  "  The  foreigner  is  surprised  as  a 
rule,  when  he  hears  that  in  Denmark  plain  peasants 
are  the  leaders  of  debate  in  the  Rigsdag  and  control 
the  more  important  government  offices ;  and  he  is  even 
more  surprised  when  he  has  the  opportunity  to  hear 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  203 

them  give  their  views  on  important  questions  in  the 
Rigsdag  or  at  agricultural  meetings.  .  .  .  The  foreigner 
will,  perhaps,  be  even  more  surprised,  when  he  hears  in 
the  Danish  folk  high  schools  lectures  given  to  young 
people  of  nothing  more  than  ordinary  common  school 
preparation,  on  Hegel,  Schleiermacher,  and  the  more 
modern  philosophical  and  social  problems." l  The 
"  living  word  "  in  these  schools  does  not  usually  concern 
itself  with  what  one  would  call  "popular"  lectures;  it 
strives  to  make  real  thinkers  out  of  the  sturdy,  red-fisted 
youths  on  the  school  benches,  by  offering  the  best  food 
for  thought ;  and  it  teaches  them  to  express  themselves 
in  pure,  incisive  Danish. 

Then,  again,  the  schools  must  be  supplied  with  teachers 
able  to  use  the  "  living  word  "  so  intimately,  so  soulfully, 
so  poetically  as  to  bridge  the  span  between  speaker  and 
hearers.  This  is  really  the  very  foundation  of  the  folk  high 
school  system  and  the  secret  of  its  success.  Those  of  the 
teachers  who  have  been  most  successful  in  their  work  have 
not  been  noted  for  great  oratorical  gift,  nor  have  they 
employed  the  intimately  technical  methods  of  the 
searching  scientist.  The  middle  ground  has  been  theirs. 
"  These  men,"  says  Hollmann,  "  speak  without  ecstasy, 
use  no  bombastic,  flowery  language ;  but  throughout 
the  lecture  there  courses  a  deep  undercurrent  of  feeling 
that  goes  right  to  the  heart  and  holds  the  attention. 

1  "Den  Danske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  36. 


204  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

They  speak  as  would  men  of  a  rich  inner  life  concerning 
the  matters  they  deal  with ;  much  as  the  rays  from  a 
lighthouse  that  penetrate  the  surface  of  the  deep,  so  as 
to  light  up  for  the  moment  the  turmoil  of  the  rolling 
billows  in  the  otherwise  monotonous  darkness."  l 

Finally,  the  work  of  the  school  must  rest  on  a  historical 
foundation.  The  subject  matter  shall  not  lay  emphasis 
on  mere  facts,  chronological  arrangement,  and  memori- 
ter  processes.  Grundtvig  would  prefer  to  see  it  taught 
as  did  the  old  Norse  skjalds  or  minnesingers,  who  through 
fiery  song  told  the  valor  of  old,  to  spur  the  living  to  greater 
deeds.  To  him  the  history  of  the  fatherland  was  a  living 
story  which  should  be  narrated  from  man  to  man,  from 
generation  to  generation.  With  all  this,  the  practical 
side  of  life  was  not  to  be  neglected.  He  would  empha- 
size "  statistics  "  or,  as  now  understood,  economics  and 
sociology.  There  should  also  be  an  understanding  of 
the  constitution  and  law  of  the  land.  Even  a  study 
of  local  municipal  affairs  is  hinted  at  in  some  of  his 
writings. 

It  should  be  made  clear  here  that  Grundtvig  warns 
against  all  manner  of  technical  instruction  in  the  schools. 
He  believed  sincerely  that  such  would  be  impossible 
alongside  of  the  general  culture.  Practical  agriculture, 
for  example,  and  the  application  of  cooperative  enter- 
prise through  the  schools  held  no  place  in  his  plans. 

1  "Den  Danske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  40. 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  205 

It  is  true  that  had  he  lived  in  our  day,  he  would,  with- 
out question,  have  included  the  history  of  agriculture, 
the  theory  of  cooperative  enterprise,  and  like  subjects  in 
the  curriculum.  But  the  fact  remains  that  he  did  not, 
and  whatever  of  innovation  has  come  in  recent  years 
must  be  accredited  to  other  leaders. 

King  Christian  VIII  Invited  to  Open  a  "  Royal  Free 
School  for  Life."  —  It  early  became  Grundtvig's  dearest 
hope  to  see  a  high  school  for  the  people  established  at 
historic  Soro  in  Zealand.  Here,  on  the  site  of  one  of  the 
most  noted  monasteries  of  the  Middle  Ages,  stands 
"  Soro  Akademi,"  the  best  endowed  and  most  noted 
classical  school  in  the  kingdom  aside  from  the  National 
University.  He  eagerly  set  about  convincing  King 
Christian  VIII  of  the  vast  significance  of  such  a  step  for 
the  future  welfare  of  the  people.  The  Queen,  Caroline 
Amalie,  became  his  enthusiastic  ally.  "  If  King  Chris- 
tian VIII,  as  I  gladly  hope,"  says  Grundtvig,  "  opens 
such  a  Royal  Free  School  for  Life,  for  popular  life  in 
Denmark,  he  will  be  able,  not  merely  to  smile  at  the 
papers  when  they  praise  or  blame  him,  but  also  to  rejoice 
in  a  popular  remedy  just  as  wonderful  as  our  absolute 
kings ;  for  he  has  therein  opened  a  well  of  healing  in  the 
land,  which  will  be  sought  by  crowds  from  generation  to 
generation  and  will  win  this  renown,  even  in  distant 
lands  and  in  far  future  days,  that  therein,  past  counting, 
blind  people  received  their  light,  the  deaf  their  hearing, 


206  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  the  dumb  their  speech,  and  that  there  the  halt  cast 
away  their  crutches  and  showed  clearly  that  the  dance 
trips  it  clearly  through  the  wood."  l 

The  king  was  practically  converted  to  Grundtvig's 
views,  and  requested  him  to  outline  a  definite  plan  for 
the  school.  Meanwhile  unexpected  difficulties  were  en- 
countered in  the  bitter  opposition  of  numbers  of  the 
University  faculty  and  the  Minister  of  Education.  This 
led  the  king  to  postpone  the  matter,  and  with  his  sudden 
death  in  1848,  all  hope  of  realization  was  abandoned. 
But  probably  this  was  fortunate  for  the  future  of  the 
folk  high  schools.  As  it  later  proved,  the  strength  of  the 
school  has  lain  in  its  leadership ;  if  this  is  unworthy,  the 
school  —  being  a  private  enterprise  —  can  easily  be 
"  snuffed  out "  and  a  new  one  begun  by  other  leaders. 
For,  it  should  be  recalled,  the  strength  of  these  schools 
has  never  been  in  imposing  buildings  nor  excellent  equip- 
ment but  in  leadership  solely. 

Rodding  Folk  High  School  Founded.  —  It  was  stated 
elsewhere  that  the  first  of  the  folk  high  schools  came  into 
being  in  North  Slesvig  at  a  time  when  national  existence 
was  threatened  there.  The  common  people  were  Danish 
speaking,  but  the  government  officials  were,  for  the  most 
part,  German  sympathizers  and  adherents  of  the  House  of 
Augustenburg.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  folk  high 
school  should  take  root  in  such  patriotic  seed  ground. 
1  Skolen  for  Livet  og  Akademiet  i  Soer. 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  207 

Dr.  Christian  Flor,  who  was  Professor  of  Danish  language 
and  literature  at  Kiel  University,  became  the  great 
champion  in  the  movement  to  establish  the  Rodding 
School.  When  it  was  opened  in  1844  to  a  score  of  peasant 
lads,  it  would  have  been  hard  to  see  anything  in  this 
humble  institution  to  betoken  the  great  future  destined 
to  come  to  the  new  kind  of  school. 

The  purpose  of  the  school  was  stated  in  the  school's 
first  circular  and  reads  as  follows :  "  The  aim  set  is  to 
found  an  institution  where  peasant  and  burgher  can 
attain  useful  and  desirable  arts,  not  so  much  with  im- 
mediate application  to  his  particular  calling  in  life  as 
with  reference  to  his  place  as  a  native  son  of  the  land 
and  a  citizen  of  the  state.  We  call  it  a  high  school  be- 
cause it  is  not  to  be  an  ordinary  school  for  growing  chil- 
dren, but  an  institution  of  learning  in  part  for  young 
people  above  the  confirmation  age,  in  part  for  full  grown 
men  —  and  we  call  it  a  folk  high  school  because  members 
of  every  station  in  life  may  gain  admittance  to  it,  al- 
though it  is  primarily  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
peasantry  and  from  it  the  school  chiefly  looks  for  its 
students."  l 

Rodding  had  a  stirring  existence.     The  first  principal, 

Johan  Wegener,  resigned  after  a  year,   compelled  by 

financial  and  other  difficulties.     Then  Dr.  Flor,  himself, 

led  the  destinies  of  the  school  until  the  uprising  broke 

1  Schroder,  "Den  Nordiske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  46. 


208  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

out  against  Danish  authority  in  1848.  The  school  re- 
mained closed  down  to  1850  when  Dr.  Flor  once  more 
succeeded  in  putting  it  upon  its  feet.  But  no  sooner  had 
the  financial  and  political  difficulties  been  smoothed  over 
than  a  difference  fraught  with  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  future  of  these  schools  reached  a  crisis.  This  was 
what  might  be  called  a  struggle  between  spirit  and 
matter.  The  faculty  was  about  evenly  divided  on  the 
question  whether  the  school  should  continue  as  a  cultural 
institution  or  become  a  school  of  technical  instruction. 
A  heated  and  often  bitter  period  of  discussion  followed ; 
but  it  ended  finally  with  Grundtvig's  philosophy  winning 
the  victory. 

In  1862,  one  of  Denmark's  greatest  folk  high  school 
leaders,  Ludvig  Schroder,  cast  his  lot  with  the  destinies 
of  Rodding.  In  1864,  the  German  war  broke  out  and, 
again,  the  school  was  abandoned.  At  the  conclusion  of 
peace  the  friends  of  the  institution  moved  it  from  Rodding 
across  to  the  other  side  of  the  new  boundary  line.  Here, 
under  the  name  of  Askov  Folkehojskole,  it  has  grown 
under  Ludvig  Schroder's  leadership  to  become  the 
greatest  of  all  the  folk  high  schools. 

Rodding  could  not  be  called  typical  of  the  folk  high 
schools.  It  was  too  closely  tied  up  with  the  purpose  of 
preserving  nationality  and  mother  tongue  in  North 
Slesvig  to  make  of  it  such  a  factor  in  folk  culture  as  the 
schools  of  present-day  Denmark  have  become. 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  209 

Kristen  Kold  (1816-1870),  the  Real  Organizer  of  the 
Folk  High  Schools.  —  Bishop  Grundtvig's  folk  high 
school  ideas  were  in  a  sense  an  abstraction  containing 
certain  fundamental  principles  for  a  unique  national 
education.  But  he  never  reduced  his  philosophy  to  the 
tangible,  so  as  to  give  expression  to  a  crystallized  system, 
applicable  to  time  and  place.  This  certainly  does  not 
diminish  the  importance  of  Grundtvig's  work  in  the  great 
cause  of  popular  education.  He  must  continue  to  stand 
preeminently  as  the  "  great  inspirer." 

Of  those  who  realized  Grundtvig's  theories  in  practice, 
Kristen  Kold  should  have  first  place  —  and  this,  not 
because  he  did  so  much  more  than  others,  but  because  he 
pointed  the  way  and  gave  the  schools  the  first  impetus 
in  the  right  direction.  He  was  born  in  1816,  the  son  of  a 
shoemaker,  who  originally  intended  the  boy  to  follow  the 
cobbler's  trade.  But,  after  much  beseeching,  his  parents 
permitted  him  to  become  a  school  teacher.  He  spent 
two  years  (1843-1845)  at  Snedsted  Teachers'  Seminary, 
and  this  was  followed  by  a  period  as  tutor  in  private 
families  and  as  assistant  teacher  in  various  schools. 
It  dawned  upon  him  by  degrees  that  the  methods  of 
teaching  then  in  vogue  were  wrong  and  often  even  cruel. 

One  day  he  found  a  little  girl  pupil  weeping  bitterly 
because  she  could  not  learn  a  difficult  explanation  in  the 
catechism.  Then  it  was  that  Kold  asked  himself, 
"  Can  it  really  be  God's  will  that  children  be  thus  tor- 


210  RUEAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

tured  with  learning  by  rote?  "  Then  and  there  he 
broke  every  established  usage  in  the  traditional  system ; 
for,  thrusting  the  book  aside,  he  began  talking  over  the 
substance  of  the  lesson  with  the  children,  explaining  it 
to  them  in  detail,  and  permitting  them  to  ask  questions 
upon  it.  This  innovation  led  to  a  breach  with  the 
archdeacon,  the  bishop,  and  the  Minister  of  Education, 
and  in  a  short  while  the  public  schools  were  closed  against 
him.  He  then  spent  two  years  in  Smyrna  as  a  missionary. 
On  the  way  home  he  became  practically  stranded  at 
Trieste  for  want  of  funds.  The  indomitable  courage  of 
the  man  can  be  seen  in  the  way  he  returned  to  Denmark. 
Spending  his  last  penny  for  a  small  draw  cart,  he  put  all 
his  earthly  belongings  into  this  and  started  northward 
overland.  It  took  over  two  months  to  make  the  journey ; 
but,  he  says,  "  It  was  worth  it."  Kold  had  the  kind  of 
nerve  required  in  those  days  of  the  successful  reformer ; 
for  to  suggest  any  kind  of  school  reform  invariably 
meant  to  invite  the  opprobrium  of  the  whole  learned 
officialdom. 

Kristen  Kold  was  stirred  mightily  by  the  reform  move- 
ment and  the  wave  of  liberal  thought  that  swept  over 
Europe  during  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  He 
played  a  humble  role  in  helping  to  quell  the  uprising  in 
the  Duchies  in  '48 ;  then  returning  home  filled  with 
pride  and  zeal  because  of  Danish  victories  against  great 
odds  he  wondered  how  such  an  outburst  of  national  feel- 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  211 

ing  could  be  kept  alive  in  the  people  "  so  that  all  its 
members  could  take  part  in  the  great  national  questions 
and  live  in  the  national  history." 

Now  Kold  began  a  unique  experiment.  While  tutor 
in  the  family  of  the  well-known  clergyman,  Vilhelm 
Birkedal,  he  requested  and  received  permission  to  take 
in  and  instruct  four  young  peasants  in  addition  to  his 
regular  pupils.  The  result  proved  so  satisfactory  that 
Kold  determined  to  resign  his  place  and  organize  a  small 
school  of  his  own.  With  his  savings  he  secured  a  piece 
of  land  for  the  school.  But,  as  his  means  were  insufficient 
to  carry  out  the  enterprise,  he  laid  his  plans  before 
Grundtvig  who  immediately  headed  a  subscription  list 
for  the  new  school,  at  the  same  time  commending  Kold 
to  the  good  offices  of  other  friends  of  the  high  school 
idea.  A  sufficient  sum  of  money  was  raised  and  Kold 
opened  the  school  at  Ryslinge,  Fiinen,  in  the  fall  of  1851, 
with  fifteen  students  ranging  in  age  from  fourteen  to 
thirty-three  years.  This  was  before  Kold  had  decided  to 
follow  Grundtvig's  advice  to  exclude  all  below  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  school  gave  instruction  —  mostly  by 
the  lecture  method  —  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in 
Norse  history,  Bible  history,  northern  mythology  and 
geography,  together  with  readings  in  Danish  and  Scan- 
dinavian literature,  and  practice  in  singing,  especially  the 
old  folk  songs  and  hero  ballads.  Considerable  emphasis 
was  placed,  in  addition  to  this,  on  a  review  of  the  ele- 


212  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

mentary  school  subjects  which  were  now  taught  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  them  immediately  applicable  to  daily 
life. 

All  went  well  until  Kold  and  his  adherents  undertook 
to  reform  the  elementary  schools  of  the  island.  Then 
all  his  opponents  rallied  against  him  and  for  a  while  it 
looked  dark  for  the  future  of  the  school.  But  through 
it  all  his  students  were  stanch  in  their  support.  Finally, 
a  government  board  was  sent  to  examine  and  catechize 
the  students  to  see  whether  the  charge  could  be  substan- 
tiated that  the  school  taught  nothing  but  foolishness. 
The  crisis  in  the  examination  came,  according  to  Kold 
himself,  when  the  examining  dean  asked  the  husky  farm 
lads  this  question :  "  Who  checked  and  defeated  Atilla 
the  Hun?  "  But  almost  instantly  a  young  peasant 
from  Jutland  answered :  "  A'itius."  This  helped.  The 
board  had  come  in  a  critical  mood  and  went  away  con- 
vinced that  the  school  was  doing  a  genuine  work  for  the 
community.  The  commission  recommended  that  the 
state  aid  be  increased,  and  thus  the  school  was  saved. 

Before  all  this  happened,  Kold  had  moved  his  school 
from  Ryslinge  to  Dalby  in  northeast  Fiinen  where  he 
worked  successfully  for  nine  years.  The  number  of 
students  grew  year  by  year,  necessitating  larger  quarters. 
Mr.  Kold,  accordingly,  acquired  a  farm  of  considerable 
size  at  Dalum,  near  Odense,  where  he  erected  substantial 
buildings.  Here,  from  1862  till  the  time  of  his  death 


THEIR  EVOLUTION  213 

eight  years  later,  the  great  high  school  man  continued 
his  noble  work.  In  those  years  at  least  thirteen  hundred 
students  sat  in  his  classes,  becoming  inspired  to  go  out 
and  live  right  and  useful  lives. 

Kold  left  no  writings  of  value  behind ;  he  was  a  man  of 
action  —  a  man  of  deeds.  His  voice  has  passed  away,  it  is 
true,  but  the  seed  he  sowed  has  multiplied  a  thousand 
fold.  Says  Hollmann :  "  Kold  reminds  one  in  more  than 
one  way  of  the  great  Greek  philosopher,  who  did  service 
as  midwife  to  bring  truth  into  the  world ;  he  was  Socratic 
too,  in  the  even  tenor  of  his  mode  of  life,  as  well  as  in  his 
method."  l  He  had  a  way  of  awakening  all  that  was 
good  and  noble  in  his  auditors,  and  could  impress  them 
with  the  surpassing  value  of  clean,  noble  living.  Kold 
was  more  than  an  instructor  of  his  pupils.  He  was  their 
friend  and  adviser.  Because  he  remained  unmarried 
until  late  in  life  he  was  able  to  spend  all  his  time  among 
them.  He  presided  at  the  common  table  by  day  and 
dwelt  in  the  same  rooms  with  the  young  men  at  night. 
The  striking  home  and  group  life  which  marks  the  folk 
high  school  originated  with  him.  The  summer  schools 
for  young  women,  also,  were  originated  by  him. 

Kold's  school  fell  far  short  of  Grundtvig's  ideals  of 
what  such  a  school  for  universal  folk  culture  should  be ; 
but  he  gave  the  masses  of  the  people  all  they  were  pre- 
pared for  at  that  time.  Some  of  the  folk  high  schools 
1  "  Den  Danske  Folkehojskole,"  p.  63. 


214  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

were  founded  by  men  of  much  greater  academic  training 
than  had  Kold,  though  none  got  as  great  a  hold  on  the 
common  people  as  he.  Now,  after  half  a  century  of 
evolution,  we  find  throughout  the  land  a  system  of  folk 
high  schools  which  combines  the  best  of  Kold's  homely 
wisdom  with  the  learning  of  his  better  academically 
trained  compeers  at  Rodding  and  Askov. 

When  the  War  of  1864  broke  out  there  were  less  than 
a  dozen  of  the  schools  in  existence.  But  the  disastrous 
war  furnished  the  necessary  spur.  In  a  short  time  they 
were  springing  up  on  every  side  to  become  the  centers 
from  which  the  national  reorganization  began.  At  the 
time  of  writing,  four  score  such  schools  are  busy  in  every 
part  of  the  kingdom,  inspiring  young  and  old  with  the 
best  life  ideals,  teaching  them  to  work  for  a  nobler 
nationalism  and  a  greater  Denmark. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THEIR  ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Ownership  of  the  Folk  High  Schools.  —  Kristen  Kold 
owned  his  school  in  person.  Whatever  subscriptions  he 
received  for  the  Ryslinge  School  were  made  outright  as 
gifts  to  the  cause.  From  that  time  on  a  large  majority 
of  the  schools  have  been  privately  owned;  or,  in  the 
few  instances  where  this  has  not  been  the  case,  they  be- 
long to  a  self-perpetuating  corporation  so  organized  that 
it  cannot  exploit  the  school  for  personal  gain.  The 
reader  should  be  clear  on  this  point,  that  the  success  of 
these  schools  has  depended  from  their  inception  on  the 
personality  of  their  organizers.  The  term  "  folk  high 
school  "  stands  for  a  faculty  of  able,  consecrated  leaders 
rather  than  for  huge  piles  of  brick  and  mortar  !  Indeed, 
most  of  the  schools  rather  pride  themselves  upon  the 
simplicity  of  their  buildings  and  equipment.  Kold 
began  his  school  with  a  capital  of  less  than  $2,000. 
Many  of  the  schools  have  begun  their  work  in  rented 
quarters  —  often  in  rooms  in  some  commodious  farm- 
house. Later,  if  they  proved  successful,  means  for  the 
construction  of  permanent  quarters  could  readily  be 
ob  tamed. 

215 


2l6 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 


A  study  of  the  following  table  will  show  that  many  folk 
high  schools  have  failed  in  their  work  for  want  of  sufficient 
educational  vitality  and  have  died  a  natural  death : 

TABLE  X.1    SCHOOLS  ORGANIZED  AND  SUSPENDED,  1844-1913 


FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

LOCAL  AGKICTTLTTTRAL  SCHOOLS 

During  the  Period 

At  the 

During  the  Period 

At  the 

Number 
Organized 

Number 
Suspended 

Close  of 
the  Period 

Number 
Organized 

Number 
Suspended 

Close  of 
the  Period 

1844-51 

3 

I 

2 

5 

I 

4 

1851-61 

10 

I 

II 

3 

2 

5 

1861-71 

49 

IO 

50 

4 

2 

7 

1871-81 

27 

13 

64 

5 

2 

10 

1881-91 

18 

15 

67 

5 

2 

13 

1891-1901 

20 

14 

73 

2 

4 

ii 

1901-06 

6 

5 

74 

5 

I 

IS 

1906-11 

10 

4 

80 

6 

2 

19 

1911-13 

2 

3 

79 

4 

O 

23 

Total    .     . 

145 

66 

79 

39 

16 

23 

One  hundred  and  forty-five  folk  high  schools  and 
thirty-nine  local  agricultural  schools  were  organized 
between  1844  and  1913,  of  which  sixty-six  folk  high 
schools  and  sixteen  agricultural  schools  were  later  closed 
down,  leaving  in  all  seventy-nine  schools  of  the  former 
kind  and  twenty-three  of  the  latter.  This  table  takes 
into  consideration  government-recognized  and  aided 
schools  only.  A  leading  high  school  man  emphasized 
recently,  in  conversation  with  the  writer,  that  "  the 

1  It  is  deemed  desirable  to  include,  in  this  and  following  tables,  the 
statistics  for  both  folk  high  schools  and  local  agricultural  schools. 


ORGANIZATION   AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION    217 

ease  with  which  the  schools  can  be  '  snuffed  out '  is  the 
best  guarantee  the  country  has  against  the  schools'  out- 
living their  own  usefulness."  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
how  the  most  influential  of  the  schools  have  been  success- 
ful in  training  and  inspiring  an  unbroken  dynasty,  as 
it  were,  of  teachers  and  leaders  who  have  a  common 
purpose  and  continue  the  school's  once-for-always 
established  policy.  At  Askov,  for  instance,  Ludvig 
Schroder  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law,  Jacob  Appel, 
who  had  for  years  been  a  leading  faculty  member. 
When  the  latter  was  called  to  become  the  Minister  of 
Education,  Mrs.  Appel  had  all  the  training  and  inspira- 
tion necessary  to  step  in  and  take  her  husband's  place. 
Likewise,  at  Vallekilde,  the  great  Ernst  Trier  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son-in-law,  Poul  Hansen,  and  at  Lyngby, 
J.  Rosendal  has  just  taken  his  son,  H.  A.  Rosendal,  into 
the  administration  as  joint  principal  with  him,  intending 
by  degrees  to  release  the  reins  of  control.  So  it  goes 
down  the  line  of  the  other  schools. 

The  Teachers :  Their  Training.  —  A  group  of  nearly 
six  hundred  men  and  women  are  required  to  do  the  work 
of  the  folk  high  schools.  These  teachers  are  bound  by 
common  bonds  through  Grundtvig's  philosophy.  Their 
efforts  are  further  harmonized  at  great  periodical  high 
school  meetings  held  over  the  country,  by  special  uni- 
versity courses  for  high  school  teachers,  and  the  like. 

The  preparation  of  the  teachers  is  not  uniform.     Many 


2l8  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  the  principals  and  permanent  teachers  have  the  best 
academic  preparation  possible.  The  rest  are  educated 
in  the  teachers'  seminaries  and  at  the  folk  high  schools 
themselves.  While  thorough  academic  and  professional 
training  is  held  in  high  esteem  at  the  folk  high  schools 
these  are  by  no  means  the  only  qualifications  considered. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  not  always  even  the  first 
qualifications  to  be  considered.  Learned  dullness  holds 
no  place  in  the  schools.  This  is  as  much  as  to  say  that, 
first  of  all,  the  teacher  must  be  seized  by  inspiration  for 
his  work  and  be  capable  of  transmitting  this  inspiration 
to  others.  Some  of  the  most  successful  high  school 
teachers  have  come  as  students  right  up  through  the  folk 
high  school  in  which  they  later  did  their  best  work.  The 
government  leaves  the  question  of  teacher  preparation 
entirely  to  the  principal  in  charge,  depending  on  its  right 
of  inspection  to  maintain  standards  of  desired  excellence. 
The  Students  who  attend  the  Schools.  —  A  study  of 
Table  XI  gives  some  interesting  figures.  During  the  pe- 
riod 1844-1846,  thirty-four  men  and  six  women  attended 
the  folk  high  schools,  and  thirty-six  men  the  agricultural 
schools.  By  1911-1912,  sixty-nine  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  men  and  women  were  in  attendance  at  the  folk  high 
schools,  and  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  men  and 
women,  at  the  agricultural  schools.  These  figures  leave 
out  of  consideration  the  twelve  or  more  rural  schools  of 
household  economics : 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION     219 

TABLE  XI.1    AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  STUDENTS  IN  ATTENDANCE 

AT  THE  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  AND  LOCAL  AGRICULTURAL 

SCHOOLS,  1844-1912 


«3 

: 

3d 
>J  O 
3  PH  <  O 

FOLK  HIGH 

AGRICULTURAL 

«§ 

3^*  ^ 

SCHOOLS 

SCHOOLS 

il 

D  %^  " 

w(2tJ5  Z 

APRIL  ist 

J$ 

H  ,„  fc.  § 

S  °        B  Q 

TO 

^E 

3fc°g 

55  a  o  2  * 

MARCH  3ist 

g 

a 

V 

3 

a 

8 

E 

3 

<i 
g« 

III* 

Sflgl 

fl 

1 

H 

S 

0 

£ 

H3 

n 

^sul 

1  844-45-*  6/«  Ave. 

34 

6 

40 

36 

— 

36 

76 

47 

15 

i846-47-w/5i  Ave. 

20 

14 

34 

42 

2 

44 

78 

56 

41 

i85i-52-55/M  Ave. 

135 

29 

164 

61 

4 

65 

229 

28 

18 

l8s6_S7_«>/61  Ave. 

209 

35 

244 

75 

I 

76 

320 

24 

14 

i86i-62-65/66  Ave. 

331 

65 

396 

89 

2 

9i 

487 

19 

16 

i866-67-7%i  Ave. 

1320 

371 

1691 

186 

7 

193 

1884 

10 

22 

i87i-72-75/78  Ave. 

2060 

1038 

3098 

153 

2 

ISS 

3253 

5 

34 

1876-77—  ^/gi  Ave. 

2182 

1242 

3424 

349 

12 

361 

3785 

10 

36 

i88i-82-86/88  Ave. 

2151 

1424 

3575 

443 

18 

461 

4036 

ii 

40 

i886-87-90/9i  Ave. 

2180 

1587 

3767 

418 

82 

500 

4267 

12 

42 

i89i~92-95/96  Ave. 

2626 

2189 

4815 

516 

43 

559 

5374 

IO 

45 

i896-97-°°/oi  Ave. 

2732 

2612 

5344 

849 

6 

855 

6199 

14 

49 

I9oi-o2-06/o6  Ave. 

3249 

3°33 

6282 

1083 

43 

1126 

7408 

15 

48 

I9o6-o7-10/n  Ave. 

3385 

3153 

6538 

"75 

156 

I33i 

7869 

17 

48 

I908/o6  Ave.       .     . 

3493 

3196 

6689 

1107 

90 

1197 

7886 

is 

48 

i906/07Ave.>      .    . 

3273 

3266 

6539 

1015 

106 

II2I 

7660 

IS 

So 

i9°Vo8  Ave.     "  .    . 

3"9 

3023 

6142 

1060 

129 

1189 

733i 

16 

49 

i9°Vo9  Ave.       .     . 

3388 

3227 

6615 

1129 

173 

1302 

7917 

16 

49 

i9°Vio  Ave.       .     . 

3541 

3147 

6688 

1309 

181 

1490 

8178 

18 

47 

i910/iiAve.       .     . 

3603 

3I04 

6707 

1361 

189 

155° 

8257 

19 

46 

I9n/i2  Ave.       .    . 

37" 

3224 

6936 

1460 

199 

1659 

8595 

19 

46 

The  total  attendance  for  1911-1912  was  eighty-five 
hundred  and  ninety-five,  a  number  which  would  almost 
reach  10,000  if  the  schools  of  household  economics  and 

1  These  are  regular  students  only.  The  large  number  of  short  course 
students  are  not  considered. 


220  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

certain  non-recognized  schools  were  counted.  The 
agricultural  schools  comprise  a  little  more  than  19  per 
cent  of  the  total  attendance,  and  the  women  almost 
46.5  per  cent  of  the  folk  high  school  attendance. 

The  total  number  in  attendance  at  any  one  time  may 
seem  small  if  compared  with  American  school  attendance ; 
but  when  considered  on  the  basis  of  the  total  rural  popu- 
lation of  Denmark  it  proves  surprisingly  large.  Indeed, 
33^  per  cent  of  the  young  men  and  a  somewhat  smaller 
number  of  young  women  spend  some  time,  at  least,  at 
the  folk  high  schools,  and  44  per  cent  of  these  later 
attend  the  local  agricultural  schools.  When  one  bears 
in  mind  that  not  quite  all  agricultural  students  attend 
the  folk  high  schools  as  preparatory  to  the  agricultural 
schools  it  will  be  seen  that  at  least  g  of  the  young  people 
frequent  the  agricultural  schools  in  addition  to  the  folk 
high  schools. 

Table  XII  shows  that  the  schools  are  open  the  year 
round,  although  the  heaviest  attendance  is  during  the 
whiter  months  (November-March)  when  the  schools  for 
men  are  all  in  session,  and  during  the  summer  months 
(May-July)  when  the  schools  for  women  are  in  session. 
The  attendance  for  the  other  months  is  drawn  from  cer- 
tain advanced  continuation  courses,  requiring  school 
residence  throughout  the  entire  year. 

A  large  majority  of  the  students  pursue  the  regular 
folk  high  school  and  agricultural  school  courses,  as  may 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION    221 
TABLE  XII.    ATTENDANCE  BY  MONTHS 


FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS 

YEAR 

1905-06 

1910-11 

1905-06 

1910-11 

April    

319 

2881 

2883 
2878 

59 
141 

139 
3468 
3502 
3688 
3679 
3S6S 

328 
2761 
2755 
2744 
48 
129 
161 

3643 
3684 

39H 
3893 
3779 

633 
267 
242 
233 
95 
104 

25 
893 
897 
9*1 

925 
918 

5i8 
345 
340 
335 
77 
1  60 
104 
1223 
1231 
1263 
1257 
1232 

May     

June     

July 

August      

September     

October    

November     

December      

January    . 

February  

March       

be  seen  from  Table  XIII.  Some  of  the  schools  have 
special  well-equipped  departments  for  the  training  of 
artisans  —  such  as  masons,  carpenters,  cabinet  makers, 
painters,  and  tinners.  Two  of  the  high  schools,  lying 
near  the  coast,  used  to  offer  courses  for  sailors  and  fisher- 
men of  an  inspirational  rather  than  professional  nature ; 
but  these  have  recently  been  discontinued.  Special 
departments  are  maintained  for  the  training  of  teachers 
in  physical  education  and  gymnastics.  Gymnastics  is 
otherwise  taught  as  a  subject  in  all  the  regular  courses. 
Subjects  in  household  economics  are  offered  in  the  regular 
courses.  But  no  complete  departments  of  this  kind 
have  been  maintained  since  the  establishment  of  separate 
rural  schools  of  household  economics.  The  number  of 


222 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 


TABLE  XIII.     CLASSIFICATION  OF  STUDENTS  ACCORDING  TO  DE- 
PARTMENTS 


DEPARTMENTS 

FOLK  HIGH 

SCHOOL 

AGRICULTURAL 
SCHOOLS 

TOTAL 

Men 

Women 

Men 

Women 

1910-11 

1905-06 

Folk  High  School  (regular) 
Agricultural  Course  (regu- 
lar) 

2851 

IOI 

534 

55 
62 

3°47 
9 

21 

27 

1146 
13 

57 
138 
7 

I83 
6 

5898 

1439 
547 

76 
89 

63 
138 

7 

5668 

1067 
633 

22 

69 
104 
76 

44 
in 

92 

Artisans       

Navigation  and  Fishing 
Gymnastics      
Continuation  Courses    .     . 
Household  Economics   .     . 
Horticulture     
Dairying      

Control  Assistants     .    .     . 
Total  

3603 

3104 

1361 

189 

8257 

7886 

students  pursuing  control  assistant  courses  during  1912- 
1913  numbers  several  hundred,  which  is  a  marked  increase 
over  the  figures  set  forth  in  the  above  table. 

According  to  statistics  for  1910-1911,  only  6  per  cent  of 
the  students  in  the  two  kinds  of  schools  came  from  the 
towns  or  cities.  This  shows  definitely  that  the  folk  high 
schools  —  as  also  the  local  agricultural  schools  —  have 
become  distinctively  the  schools  of  agricultural  com- 
munities. The  average  for  all  the  schools  is  about 
eighty-five  students.  However,  the  actual-attendance 
ranges  from  ten  or  more  to  about  four  hundred  to  a  school. 
Many  of  the  smallest  schools  do  some  of  the  very  best 
work. 


ORGANIZATION   AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION     223 

Fifty-four  per  cent  of  all  the  students  were  (1910-11) 
children  of  substantial  middle-class  farmers  (Gaard- 
maend) ;  20  per  cent  came  from  the  smallholds  (Hus- 
maend) ;  10  per  cent  were  children  of  country  artisans ; 
3  per  cent  of  country  laborers ;  and  the  rest  were  variously 
distributed.  Ten  per  cent  of  the  students  were  country 
artisans  by  trade,  and  38  per  cent  of  all  received  state 
aid. 

Of  the  total  number  in  attendance,  i  per  cent  of  the 
students  were  below  sixteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
matriculation;  6  per  cent  were  between  sixteen  and 
eighteen  years  of  age ;  80  per  cent  were  between  eighteen 
and  twenty-five  years;  and  13  per  cent  were  above 
twenty-five  years.  Only  y-g-  of  the  entire  number  had 
attended  Realskoler  or  Latin  schools.  All  the  others 
had  completed  the  work  of  the  elementary  school  and 
had  devoted  their  time  to  practical  tasks  until  old  enough 
to  gain  admittance  to  the  folk  high  schools. 

State  Aid  to  Schools  and  Students.  —  For  reasons 
stated  elsewhere,  the  schools  are  and,  in  Denmark  at 
least,  should  continue  to  be  private  institutions.  But  if 
they  are  to  do  their  work  well  and  reach  the  mass  of  the 
common  people,  they  must  be  state  aided  financially. 
Almost  from  the  first  this  has  been  the  case.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  state  aid  was  small  and  grudgingly 
given.  But  as  the  government  came  to  realize  the  great 
value  of  the  schools,  and  especially  since  the  farmers 


224  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

themselves  have  come  into  control  of  the  government,  the 
annual  appropriations  to  aid  the  schools  and  deserving 
students  have  increased  rapidly. 

The  aid  takes  the  form  (i)  of  assisting  in  the  direct 
maintenance  of  the  schools,  and  (2)  in  helping  students 
to  meet  school  expenses.  The  amount  of  the  former  to 
any  one  school  is  regulated  by  the  size  of  the  budget  of 
the  particular  school  for  the  past  fiscal  year.  The 
amount  of  the  latter  is  determined  by  a  number  of  cir- 
cumstances, although  it  must  not  exceed  a  specified 
amount  monthly  for  any  one  individual.  The  policy 
at  this  time  is  to  reduce  the  amount  given  immediately 
to  the  schools,  and  increase  the  amount  of  student  aid. 
It  should  be  understood  that  the  amount  allowed  a 
student  is  paid  directly  into  the  school's  coffers  and 
never  to  the  beneficiary. 

Table  XIV  explains  the  amount  of  state  aid  that  was 
given  during  the  year  1910-1911,  the  monthly  amount 
for  each  applicant,  the  total  number  of  applicants,  etc. 

The  total  amount  distributed  during  the  year,  for 
student  aid,  was  233,805.78  kroner.  The  total  number 
of  applications  for  aid  was  forty-seven  hundred  and 
forty-seven,  of  which  only  twenty-seven  hundred  and 
five  were  accepted.  Every  such  application  must  be 
made  direct  to  the  municipal  board  of  the  municipality 
where  the  applicant  resides  and  is  known.  Only  persons 
of  unimpeachable  character  who  do  not  have  sufficient 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION    225 
TABLE  XIV.    SHOWING  HOW  STATE  AID  TO  STUDENTS  is  DISTRIBUTED 


1 

0 

8 
& 

h 

0 

d 

H 

APPUCA- 
TION  FOR 

Am 

TOTAL  AMOUNT  DISTRIBUTED 

Total 
Applications 

Number  Accepted 

| 

1 

1 

3 
I 

Average  per  School  Month 

Men 

Women 

_.2 

Si 

w£ 

Agricultural 
Schools 

-1 

q 

Agricultural 
Schools 

The 

Islands 

High 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

729 

570 

385 
387 

42,140.5    Kr 
26,385      Kr 

21.93 



21.99 



Agr. 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

227 
93 

129 
Si 

17,880.28  Kr 
6,032      Kr 



2554 



25-03 

Jutland 

High 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

1555 
1233 

746 
791 

69,780       Kr 
49,799-5    Kr 

18.93 



19-5.' 



Agr. 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

262 
49 

152 
36 

18,134.5    Kr 
3.654       Kr 



23-55 

— 

25-03 

Denmark 

High 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

2284 
1803 

1131 

1178 

111,920.5    Kr 
76,184.50  Kr 

19.96 



20.43 



Agr. 
Schools 

Men 
Women 

489 
142 

281 
87 

36,014.78  Kr 
9,686       Kr 



24-50 



25-03 

The  Faroes 

29 

28 

2,200       Kr 





— 



Total 

4747 

2705 

233,803.78  Kr 

19.96 

24.50 

20.43 

25.03 

means  of  their  own  to  pay  the  small  school  fees  can  re- 
ceive this  aid. 

It  all  amounts  to  this,  that  in  Denmark  every  person 
who  has  an  inclination  to  take  advantage  of  these  rural 
schools  for  grown-up  people  has  the  opportunity  to  do 
so;  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  schools  are 
privately  owned. 

The  following  figures  show  the  recent  growth  in  state 
subsidies  to  the  schools  and  their  pupils :  1908-1909, 
229,292  kroner;  1910-1911,  241,551  kroner;  1912-1913, 
Q 


226  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

424,70x3  kroner;  and  1913-1914,  about  520,000  kroner. 
The  "  Expanded  "  Askov  Folk  High  School  has  just  been 
voted  a  special  annual  aid  of  30,000  kroner  out  of  which 
4,500  kroner  is  to  be  used  for  student  aid. 

State  recognition  of  the  schools  is  regulated  by  law. 
In  order  to  be  placed  on  the  accredited  list  the  school 
must  have  been  in  successful  operation  at  least  two  years, 
and  for  the  two  years  must  have  enrolled  no  less  than 
ten  students  for  twelve  months,  or  twenty  students  for 
six  months,  or  forty  for  three  months.  None  of  these 
can  be  less  than  sixteen  years  of  age ;  nor  can  more  than 
25  per  cent  of  the  male  students  be  from  sixteen  to  eight- 
een years  of  age.  Any  other  students  of  low  age  shall 
not  be  counted. 

Cost  of  Schooling.  —  One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the 
substantial  growth  of  the  folk  high  school  is  the  relatively 
low  cost  of  the  schooling.  The  amount  charged  for 
tuition,  board,  and  lodging  is  determined  from  year  to 
year  by  the  Association  of  Folk  High  Schools  and  Agri- 
cultural Schools,  which  is  binding  upon  all  the  schools 
holding  membership  in  the  Association.  The  charges  for 
the  current  year  (1913)  are  as  follows:  A  winter  course 
of  five  months  for  men,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
kroner  for  tuition,  board,  and  lodging.  The  amount  to 
be  divided  in  this  way :  twenty-five  kroner  a  month  for 
board  and  lodging ;  for  tuition,  twenty  kroner  the  first 
month,  fifteen  kroner  the  second  month,  ten  the  third, 


ORGANIZATION  AND   METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION    227 

five  the  fourth,  and  nothing  the  last.  For  a  summer 
course  of  three  months  for  women  the  amount  is :  ninety- 
six  kroner  for  tuition,  board,  and  lodging ;  and  tuition  for 
the  three  months,  twenty,  fifteen,  and  ten  kroner  respec- 
tively. To  the  above,  ten  kroner  should  be  added  for  books 
and  other  supplies,  and  two  kroner  for  doctor's  fee.  This 
makes  the  total  amount  paid  for  a  five  months'  winter 
course  only  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  kroner  or 
$50.50,  and  for  a  three  months'  summer  course  one 
hundred  and  eight  kroner  or  $29.19. 

Naturally  these  sums  will  not  buy  any  luxuries ;  but 
the  food  is  wholesome  and  plentiful.  The  dormitory 
rooms  are  exceedingly  plain  and  are  arranged  for  two, 
three,  and  four  students  in  a  room.  The  schools  are 
now  generally  being  equipped  with  central  heating  plants. 
In  the  older  schools  many  of  the  dormitories  are  heated 
by  stoves,  or  are  even  without  heat  of  any  kind.  When 
the  latter  is  the  case,  the  students  are  expected  to  do 
their  studying  in  large  heated  study  rooms  and  reading 
rooms  in  the  recitation  hall. 

The  School  a  Democratic  Body.  —  The  students  of  the 
folk  high  schools  form  a  highly  democratic  body.  A 
strong  sense  of  responsibility  and  respect  for  the  rights 
of  others  pervades  the  school  atmosphere.  The  students 
are  treated  as  members  of  the  principal's  family.  Indeed, 
the  latter  usually  presides  over  the  dining-room  where 
teachers  and  students  meet  on  common  ground.  All  the 


228  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

students,  except  those  who  live  regularly  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  school,  are  expected  to  room  in  the  dormitories, 
where  small  groups  of  them  live  in  close  contact  with 
chosen  teachers  whose  inspiration  counts  for  much  in 
the  course  of  training.  Kristen  Kold,  in  his  day,  secured 
much  of  his  great  influence  over  the  lives  of  his  students 
through  his  daily  communion  with  them  at  the  dormi- 
tories. "  My  occasional  heart  to  heart  talks  with  Kold," 
says  a  prominent  high  school  man  of  to-day,  "  had  more 
to  do  with  shaping  my  life  than  even  the  homely  wisdom 
of  his  lectures."  Other  leaders  since  Kold's  time  have 
followed  his  example  with  greatest  success. 

In  many  schools  the  students  live  under  self-imposed 
rules  and  regulations,  enforced  by  representatives  chosen 
from  their  own  midst.  Since  the  students  are  grown-up 
people  who  should  know  how  to  behave,  the  system  has 
proved  generally  satisfactory.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
no  other  rules  are  necessary  among  the  students  than 
just  such  as  might  apply  to  the  average  family  and  be 
dictated  by  the  feelings  of  respect  and  love  for  one 
another. 

It  is  well  also  to  add  here  that  the  day's  work  at  the 
folk  school  is  so  full  of  varied  interests  from  early  morning 
until  late  at  night  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  one 
so  inclined  to  find  time  for  "  irregularities." 

The  Spirit  of  the  Teaching.  —  The  young  people  who 
attend  the  folk  high  schools  come  here  at  the  time  in  life 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION    229 

when  they  are  most  impressionable.  The  "  inspirers  " 
know  this  period  and  turn  it  into  an  abundant  seed 
time.  The  Germans  call  it  the  "  sturm  und  drang  " 
period,  which  comes  to  all  who  stand  on  the  threshold  of 
mature  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Denmark  has  been  fortunate  in  producing  an  unfailing 
supply  of  teachers  able  to  meet  the  heart  cravings  of  the 
seekers  after  truth.  They  are  themselves  men  who 
"  feel  a  fervor  and  zealous  warmth  for  their  vocation  and 
possess  a  power  to  captivate  the  attention  of  their 
students." 

As  indicated  repeatedly  above,  the  lecture  method  of 
presenting  the  subject  matter  prevails.  Though  this  is 
varied,  without  warning,  with  a  give  and  take  process  of 
questions  and  answers  somewhat  like  the  maieutics  used 
by  Socrates  of  old.  The  element  of  interest  plays  a  great 
rdle  in  all  this  work. 

The  teachers  must  have  what  has  been  called  the 
"  historical-poetical  faculty,"  for  the  whole  course  of 
training  is  based  on  history.  The  pageantry  of  the  past 
is  portrayed  in  living  colors  for  the  purpose  of  illuminat- 
ing incidents  in  one's  own  national  history  and  life 
history.  "  Here,"  says  Alfred  Poulsen,  "  we  find 
mentioned  the  relation  of  man  and  woman,  parents  and 
children,  master  and  servant,  religious,  social,  and  politi- 
cal questions,  which  all  agitate  our  own  times.  It  is,  if 
you  like,  a  sort  of  unsystematical,  practical  life-philos- 


230  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

ophy,  which  in  this  way  —  the  historical  —  we  seek  to 
convey  to  our  pupils."  * 

But  this  historical  background  is  broad  enough  to 
include  materials  from  the  virile  mythology  of  the  Old 
North  as  well  as  problems  of  present-day  social  science. 
Folk-lore,  songs,  and  literature  hold  important  place  in 
the  curriculum.  The  Danish  high  school  students  are 
often  as  well  acquainted  with  Shakespeare  and  Emerson, 
Goethe,  and  Tolstoy,  as  with  their  Scandinavian  Hoi- 
berg,  Ibsen,  and  Bjornsen.  Religion  in  the  dogmatic 
sense  is  not  taught  in  the  schools.  But  historical  teach- 
ing if  properly  done  is  itself  religious;  that  is,  as  one 
of  the  high  school  men  has  expressed  it :  "  The  hand  of 
God  is  shown  all  through  the  evolution  of  the  ages,  and 
in  this  way  the  religious  feeling  is  constantly  kept  awake 
and  exercised." 

Students  whose  preparatory  training  has  been  faulty 
are  required  to  take  regular  classroom  work  in  Danish 
language,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  drawing.  Courses 
are  open  to  all  hi  practical  surveying,  geography,  physics, 
chemistry,  biology,  sanitation,  and  nature  study.  Gym- 
nastics is  required  of  all  students.  A  few  schools  offer 
sloyd.  All  have  handwork  and  various  phases  of  house- 
hold economics  for  young  women. 

Two  Kinds  of  Folk  High  Schools.  —  It  has  long  been  a 
mooted  question  among  Danish  educators  just  how  far 

1  "  The  Danish  Popular  High  School,"  p.  10. 


ORGANIZATION  AND   METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION    231 

the  high  schools  might  safely  go  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
"  practical  subjects."  Shall  training  for  life  pursuits 
be  taken  up  by  the  high  schools,  or  shall  this  be  left  en- 
tirely to  professional  schools?  Many  of  the  leading 
schoolmen  insist  that  to  introduce  professional  studies 
would  mean  the  early  decadence  of  real  folk  high  school 
culture.  Of  the  seventy-nine  government  accredited 
schools  forty-eight  adhere  to  the  culture  idea,  pure  and 
simple.  And  in  this  list  are,  perhaps,  a  majority  of  the 
schools  which  have  done  most  to  place  a  real  stamp  on 
the  character  of  the  nation.  But  thirty-one  schools  — 
among  them  some  of  the  largest  —  offer  specific  courses 
in  agriculture,  horticulture,  carpentry,  masonry,  and 
like  subjects  and  seem  in  no  danger  of  losing  their 
original  inspiration. 

Some  Subjects  of  Particular  Interest :  Song.  —  The 
"  songbirds  "  in  the  hearts  of  the  Danish  peasantry  are 
not  dumb.  Go  into  any  home  and  they  sing  —  not 
alone  the  long  and  sometimes  doleful  church  hymns 
but  folk  songs,  ballads,  and  patriotic  songs  of  every  sort. 
The  children  all  learn  to  sing  in  the  elementary  schools. 
No  teacher,  indeed,  can  secure  a  certificate  to  teach  who 
is  unable  to  lead  the  pupils  in  song.  Music,  song,  and 
poetry  play  a  great  part  in  the  folk  high  school's  work. 
Every  lecture  or  recitation  begins  with  song;  every 
student  sings.  The  average  high  school  man  is  quite  a 
poet  in  addition  to  being  a  music  lover.  Many  of  them 


232  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

show  the  gift  of  spontaneous  composition  so  common 
in  the  old  Norse  skjalds  or  minnesingers. 

The  song  collection  in  daily  use  comprises  songs  written 
by  high  school  men  from  Grundtvig  down  to  the  present 
time.  One  can  get  a  good  idea  of  what  the  schools  sing 
by  glancing  over  the  contents  of  the  songbook  edited  by 
the  Association  of  Folk  High  Schools  and  Agricultural 
Schools,  which  is  almost  universally  used. 

CONTENTS 

1-46  Morning  Songs 

47-115  Spiritual  Songs 

116-145  Home  and  School 

146-176  Folk  Life  and  Mother  Tongue 

177-361  Historical  Songs 

362-395  Denmark 

396-408  Norway  and  Iceland 

409-412  Sweden  and  Finland 

413-430  The  North 

43I-4S8  Geographical  Songs 

459-527  Miscellaneous  Songs 

528-545  Folk  Songs 

546-579  Evening  Songs. 

Gymnastics  and  Play  Life.  —  No  phase  of  folk  school 
activity  appeals  to  the  observer  more  strongly  than  does 
its  work  in  gymnastics.  The  students  come  to  the 
schools  from  a  variety  of  occupations,  generally  from 
outdoor,  active  life.  But  they  are  not  permitted  to 
become  "  stale,"  as  every  day's  work  includes  at  least 


ORGANIZATION   AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION     233 

sixty  minutes  of  gymnastics  and  very  possibly  twice  that 
time.  The  earliest  schools  used  a  violent  military  system 
of  drills  formulated  after  the  German  army  system.  In 
the  early  8o's  Vallekilde  abolished  this  and  adopted  in  its 
place  the  more  scientific  Ling  system  from  Sweden. 
Even  the  latter  has  become  modified  with  time  and 
improved.  This  new  Danish-Swedish  form  of  gymnas- 
tics can  now  be  seen  in  all  the  schools. 

"  Our  work  in  gymnastics,"  said  one  of  the  schoolmen 
in  conversation,  "  has  made  sturdy,  clear-eyed,  keen- 
witted men  out  of  the  shuffling  young  farm  louts  who 
have  come  to  the  school ;  and  it  has  taught  our  young 
women  pride  in  strong,  beautiful  bodies,  helping  them  to 
understand  what  it  means  to  be  created  in  God's  own 
image." 

The  effect  of  the  work  is  far  felt.  The  love  of  gymnas- 
tics and  play  is  carried  home  by  the  high  school  students 
who  have  organized  gymnastic  associations  in  every 
country  commune.  This  means  much  for  a  continued 
close  social  relationship.  Song,  gymnastics,  and  play 
make  up  the  tripod  of  Danish  rural  recreative  life. 
Where  you  find  the  one,  the  other  two  are  sure  to  be. 

The  excellence  of  Danish  folk  school  gymnastics  is 
now  generally  recognized  on  the  continent.  In  1911, 
Jens  Ovesen,  who  has  charge  of  gymnastics  at  Ryslinge, 
brought  a  group  of  twenty-eight  young  gymnasts,  most 
of  them  farm  boys  from  Ryslinge  School,  to  represent 


234  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

Denmark  at  the  International  Hygienic  Congress,  at 
Dresden.  Exhibitions  were  also  given  at  Berlin  and 
other  German  cities,  and  everywhere  the  Danish  farm 
lads  were  applauded  for  their  skill  and  ability,  getting  the 
heartiest  kind  of  praise  from  the  continental  press.  In 
1912,  Denmark  picked  its  representatives  to  the  Olympic 
games  at  Stockholm  largely  from  the  folk  high  schools. 
And  last  year,  Niels  Buch,  an  old  Vallekilde  student, 
had  charge  of  twenty  young  men  and  sixteen  young 
women  who  won  high  honors  in  the  competitive  drills 
held  in  connection  with  the  Congres  International  de 
1'Education  Physique,  at  Paris. 

School  Work  that  makes  Thinkers  of  Men.  —  To 
make  their  students  able  to  think  and  reason  for  them- 
selves has  been  the  aim  of  the  schoolmen.  Encyclope- 
dism  has  been  avoided,  and  the  students  generally  return 
to  their  homes,  with  strong,  reasoning  minds,  open  to 
conviction,  but  just  as  ready  to  convince  if  on  the  right 
side  of  the  argument. 

The  writer,  on  one  occasion,  had  gone  through  a 
strenuous  day  with  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  young 
men  at  Vallekilde  and  met  with  them  again  in  the  eve- 
ning for  the  last  lecture  of  the  day.  The  lecture  happened 
to  deal  with  the  social  economic  development  of  Europe 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
seemed  rather  dry  and  technical.  But  this  did  not  dis- 
courage these  horny-handed  sons  of  toil  who  proved  to  be 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION     235 

surprisingly  well  at  home  with  such  personages  as  Adam 
Smith,  Malthus,  Carlyle,  Voltaire,  and  Rousseau !  At 
the  close  of  the  lecture  the  students  broke  up  into  smaller 
groups,  continuing  a  discussion  of  the  arguments  pro- 
pounded by  the  lecturer  in  a  manner  to  confound  many 
a  university  senior  of  recent  memory. 

Indeed,  the  superiority  of  the  folk  high  school  gradu- 
ates over  students  from  mere  technical  agricultural 
schools  is  pretty  sure  to  lie  in  the  broader  world  horizon 
of  the  former  and  in  the  facility  with  which  they  have 
learned  to  reason  from  cause  to  effect  —  to  think  things 
through  for  themselves. 

Historical  Study  the  Main  Background.  —  The  folk 
high  school  makes  no  use  of  formal  methods  in  its 
instruction,  partly  because  it  does  not  concern  itself 
with  technical  subjects,  and  partly  because  its  students 
are  grown  people  to  whom  it  can  address  itself  in  a 
popular-philosophic  manner.  The  school  does  not  teach 
the  classic  languages  at  all.  English  and  German  are 
studied  in  some  of  the  schools,  because  of  the  intimate 
commercial  relationship  between  Denmark  and  these 
nations.  They  are  taught  with  a  view  to  immediate 
practical  use  only.  Even  the  mother  tongue  is  not  pre- 
sented in  such  a  way  as  to  emphasize  the  grammatical 
machinery  beyond  the  merest  necessity.  Mathematics  as 
a  systematic  study  holds  a  minor  place.  The  require- 
ments are  always  limited  to  the  practical  application  of 


236  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

arithmetical  and  geometrical  calculation.  Professor  Poul 
la  Cour  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  create  a  method  of  his 
own  for  the  presentation  of  mathematics  and  physics. 
He  calls  this  the  historical  method.  Under  it  mathe- 
matics and  the  natural  sciences  take  on  a  new  life  as  the 
lecturer  unfolds  them  in  their  historical  setting  as  his- 
torical growths. 

But  history  is,  after  all,  the  main  lecture  subject. 
And  by  this  is  meant  history  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the 
word.  It  covers  what  is  generally  termed  universal  or 
general  history,  the  history  of  civilization,  and  history  of 
racial  culture  and  literature.  About  two  thirds  of  the 
time  spent  in  the  schools  is  devoted  to  these  studies. 

Through  the  use  of  such  material  the  folk  high  schools 
strive  to  give  the  mass  of  the  people  a  broad  culture, 
much  the  same  as  the  regular  academic  schools  seek  to 
convey  to  their  students  through  a  larger  number  of 
subjects,  covering  a  longer  period  of  tune. 

The  main  difference  between  the  cultured  person  and 
the  man  of  no  culture  is,  no  doubt,  that  the  former  feels 
himself  in  an  organic  touch  with  the  higher  cultural  life 
and  its  development  down  through  the  times ;  while  the 
latter  —  without  knowing  it  —  lives  in  a  disconnected 
and  mostly  accidental  relation  to  the  culture  and  spiritual 
life  that  surrounds  him.  In  most  countries  there  exists 
a  startling  gap  between  the  comparatively  small  circle 
that  can  lay  claim  to  the  higher  culture  and  the  mass  of 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION    237 

the  people  who  go  through  life  without  it.  Here  the 
Danish  folk  high  schools  have  been  great  bridge  builders, 
spanning  the  once  existing  deep  gulf  in  the  spiritual  life  of 
its  masses.  An  able  English  schoolman  who  had  made 
many  trips  to  Denmark  to  study  the  schools,  referring  to 
this  happy  circumstance  in  an  address  at  Askov,  once 
said :  "  We  Englishmen  have  much  to  learn  from  you 
here  in  Denmark.  We  have  a  glorious  history ;  but  it  is 
foreign  to  the  larger  mass  of  the  people.  We  need  folk 
high  schools  to  span  the  gap  between  the  people  and  its 
history  and  poetry."  r 

Spiritual  Growth  and  the  Work  of  the  Day.  —  How 
the  thought  life  of  the  student  gradually  unfolds  itself 
under  the  influence  of  the  daily  contact  with  the  high 
school  "  inspirers  "  can  be  told  in  no  better  way  than  it 
has  been  done  by  an  old  Askov  student,  in  a  graphic 
little  booklet  called,  "  En  Vinter  paa  Askov  Hojskole  af 
en  Elev."  2  A  picture  of  the  daily  life  at  the  school,  as 
described  by  him,  is  therefore  reproduced  here  in  free 
translation : 

"  At  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  school  bell  hanging 
before  the  main  entrance  is  sounded.  The  school  be- 
comes awake.  Doors  and  windows  are  thrown  open, 
and  then  students  make  their  beds  (There  are,  as  a  rule, 

1  Ludvig  Schroder,  in  the  Periodical  for  Church  and  Culture,  Chris- 
tiania,  1896. 

*  "A  Winter  at  Askov  Folk  High  School,  by  a  Student." 


238  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

two  in  a  room,  for  which  each  student  furnishes  his 
bedding  from  home),  fetch  water,  brush,  beat,  sweep, 
and  polish.  By  half  past  seven  o'clock  everything  must 
be  spick-and-span.  The  bell  sounds  for  a  second  time 
and  all  students  assemble  for  coffee  in  '  Dagmarsalen.' 
One  hears  a  clappering  of  wooden  shoes  and  heavy  boots. 
From  the  'white  house,'  from  the  main  building  and  from 
the  dormitories  the  husky  fellows  come  a-galloping  and 
are  soon  seated  at  the  long  tables  in  the  large  dining- 
room.1  After  coffee  there  is  morning  devotion.  It  is  a 
personal  matter  whether  or  not  one  takes  part  in  this. 
Exercises  open  with  a  piano  voluntary  by  Fru  Ingeborg 
Appel,  wife  of  the  principal ;  then  follow  song  and  prayer. 

"  The  first  class  period  of  the  day  begins  at  8  o'clock, 
in  the  large  lecture  room.  The  lecture  is  preceded  by 
song.  Song,  song,  and  again  song,  might  well  be  the  folk 
high  school  motto  !  The  songs  are  mainly  from  Grundt- 
vig,  Richardt,  and  Bjornsen,  together  with  folk  songs. 
The  lecture  program  varies  from  day  to  day.  Either 
Dr.  Marius  Kristensen  lectures  on  philology  or  Professor 
Poul  la  Cour  gives  a  course  in  historical  mathematics, 
or  Professor  Ludvig  Schroder  speaks  on  Norse  mythol- 
ogy and  the  heroes  of  old. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  the  young  men  rush  out 

1  It  is  customary  to  eat  a  very  light  meal  —  porridge,  bread  and  butter, 
milk  or  coffee  —  immediately  upon  rising.  Breakfast  is  served  at  10 
o'clock,  dinner  at  2,  and  supper  at  7. 


ORGANIZATION  AND  METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION    239 

in  a  hurry.  They  must  get  to  their  rooms  and  dress  for 
gymnastics,  which  begin  at  nine  o'clock.  The  instructor 
gives  the  order,  and  the  columns  '  double  quick  '  around 
the  gymnasium  several  times  to  rouse  the  gymnasts  to 
keen  attention.  Then  they  go  through  the  '  setting-up 
exercises'  with  great  expedition.  Thereupon  they  sepa- 
rate into  smaller  groups  and  are  soon  engaged  in  a  large 
variety  of  exercises.  Some  go  through  contortions  on  the 
Swedish  ladder ;  others  are  using  the  hand  and  arm 
beams ;  still  others  are  exercising  on  the  horse.  Every 
man  works  with  a  vim  and  at  the  close  of  the  period  the 
perspiration  stands  out  all  over  their  well-knit  bodies. 
The  command  to  dismiss  is  given  and  the  young  fellows 
rush  to  the  baths  and  the  welcome  showers.  No  sooner 
are  they  dressed  than  the  bell  calls  to  breakfast. 

"  At  10 :  30  o'clock  all  the  students  meet  again  in  the 
large  lecture  hall.  This  time  it  is  either  Professor  la 
Cour  or  Principal  Appel  who  gives  an  interesting  lecture 
on  some  topic  in  natural  science  or  Professor  la  Cour  lec- 
tures on  the  historic  method  in  mathematics  or  Professor 
Axelsen  introduces  a  theme  in  modern  history.  When 
this  period  is  ended  the  students  scatter  to  various  class- 
rooms to  receive  instruction  in  accounting,  handwork, 
hygiene  and  sanitation,  history  and  geography,  up  to 
2  o'clock. 

"  Two  o'clock  is  the  dinner  hour.  The  kitchen  at 
Askov  is  not  the  least  remarkable  of  the  many  interest- 


240  RURAL   DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

ing  places  there.  An  exceptionally  able  housekeeper  is 
required  to  make  ends  meet  and  to  make  it  possible  to 
serve  four  meals  a  day  on  the  twenty-five  kroner  a  month 
for  board.  The  dinner  is  good  and  wholesome;  there 
are  always  at  least  two  courses,  say,  vegetable  or  fruit 
soup  and  roast  beef,  or  a  variety  of  Danish  national 
dishes.  The  culinary  department  is  at  Askov,  as  at  other 
folk  high  schools,  under  the  particular  supervision  of  the 
principal's  wife ;  who,  besides,  at  times  takes  considerable 
part  in  the  practical  instruction.  After  dinner,  the  class 
work  is  suspended  until  3  :  25  o'clock.  Such  students  as 
desire  may  meanwhile  devote  their  time  to  outdoor 
sport;  football,  or,  when  the  weather  permits,  some 
winter  game  or  other. 

"  At  3  :  25  o'clock,  the  beloved  old  Nutzhorn,  one  of  the 
original  founders  of  the  school,  appears  with  his  baton 
under  his  arm.  The  students  gather  at  the  gymnasium, 
and  soon  the  large  hall  is  filled  with  a  great  volume  of 
song  from  the  hundreds  of  student  voices. 

"  From  4  to  5  o'clock  instruction  is  given  in  Danish, 
German,  and  English  for  the  young  men,  while  the  young 
women l  take  their  gymnastic  exercises  under  the  com- 
mand of  Fru  Appel. 

"  At  6  o'clock  all  the  students  meet  in  the  large  lecture 
hall  for  the  last  lecture  of  the  day,  which  again  deals  with 
history.  Either  Professor  Fenger  lectures  on  an  epoch  of 
1  Askov  is  one  of  the  few  coeducational  folk  high  schools. 


ORGANIZATION   AND  METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION    241 

Danish  history,  or  Principal  Appel  takes  up  a  phase  of 
other  European  history,  as  for  example,  of  Prussia  or 
England,  or  Professor  Schroder  deals  with  Grundtvig's 
national  philosophic  thought  or  a  theme  of  similar  con- 
tent. Schroder  is  Askov's  real  founder  and  is  one  of  the 
high  school  leaders  who  has  wielded  the  greatest  influence. 
The  methods  used  by  him  in  presenting  his  subjects  is, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  many  high  school  teachers, 
the  acme  of  the  highest  and  purest  in  the  art  of  popular 
lecturing ;  and  whoever  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
heard  him  will  know  the  significance  of  the  power  of  the 
'  living  word.'  Self-control  and  deep  sincerity  character- 
ize his  method.  Remarkable  for  deep  thought,  he  ex- 
presses himself  in  plain,  straightforward  terms  which 
are  as  free  from  doctrinaire  dullness  as  from  oratorical 
pathos.  Schroder  is  known  to  have  said  that  he  is  often 
filled  with  diffidence  and  worry  to  have  guests,  especially 
from  learned  circles,  tell  him  at  the  close  of  a  lecture, 
that  they  found  it  '  interesting.'  '  If  my  lecture  has 
only  been  entertaining,'  he  would  say,  '  then  it  has 
failed  hi  so  far  as  it  was  the  purpose  to  impress  my 
listeners  with  some  responsibility  which  they  should 
meet  and  take.  There  is  another  way  of  listening.  It 
happens  occasionally  that  one  hears  at  the  close  of  a 
lecture,  a  great  inhalation  of  the  breath !  This  is  a  sure 
indication  that  the  inner  man  has  felt  the  weight  of  the 
argument  and  has  taken  it  to  himself  personally.'  ' 


242  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

One  will  see  from  this  glimpse  of  daily  life  at  Askov 
that  a  school  spirit  reigns  there  well  worthy  of  com- 
parison with  the  best  to  be  found  in  academic  institutions 
of  the  highest  rank.  School  life  there  is  a  cumulative 
growth,  developing  as  the  days  go  by,  setting  the  indi- 
vidual free  from  the  many  trivialities  which  before  bound 
him,  furnishing  him  with  an  altruism  which  makes  work 
for  others  and  cooperation  with  one's  neighbors  seem 
both  right  and  easy. 


CHAPTER  XV 
TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

General  Statement.  —  It  is  difficult  to  convey  to  the 
reader  all  that  the  folk  high  schools  are  and  do.  The 
work  is  of  the  spirit  more  than  of  matter.  It  is  felt  and 
experienced  rather  than  seen.  Therefore,  the  glimpses 
of  the  journeyings  to  and  fro  among  the  schools  by  the 
writer  and  his  friends,  which  are  given  in  the  following 
paragraphs,  may  not  always  convey  as  much  to  the  mind 
as  would  be  highly  desirable  in  order  to  do  the  schools 
justice. 

There  are  now  seventy-nine  government-accredited 
folk  high  schools  established  throughout  Denmark, 
besides  a  few  that  are  striving  towards  recognition.  To 
tell  the  story  of  all  would  be  out  of  the  question.  Six 
schools  only  which  are  typical  of  all  the  schools  have, 
therefore,  been  selected  from  this  number.  They  are 
Roskilde,  Fredriksborg,  Vallekilde  and  Haslev  in  Zealand, 
Ryslinge  in  Fiinen,  and  Askov  in  Jutland. 

A  Day  at  Roskilde  Folk  High  School.  —  Roskilde,  the 
ancient  capital  of  Denmark  and  burial  place  of  its  kings, 
is  near  the  center  of  Zealand.  The  school  lies  two  miles 

343 


244  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

up  the  fjord  from  the  town.  A  brisk  walk  over  the  excel- 
lent, well-rounded  surfaced  and  ditched  roads  brought  us 
to  the  school  which  is  constructed  of  brick  and  stone  in 
sixteenth  century  style.  Several  substantial  teachers' 
cottages  flank  the  main  approach.  The  principal  and  his 
family  live  in  a  wing  of  the  main  building,  so  as  to  be  in 
the  midst  of  the  pupils,  to  direct  and  advise.  We  were 
well  received  by  Principal  Thomas  Bredsdorf,  who  intro- 
duced us  to  his  family  and  faculty,  making  us  feel  quite 
at  home. 

One  hundred  and  forty  young  men  were  in  attendance 
—  a  sturdy  family.  Sixty  per  cent  of  them  Gaardmaend's 
sons  (farmers  of  from  fifteen  to  one  hundred  acres), 
25  per  cent  of  them  Husmaend's  sons  (farmers  of  one  to 
fifteen  acres),  and  the  rest,  sons  of  artisans  and  laborers 
from  country  and  town.  But  here  they  were  on  an 
absolutely  equal  footing. 

A  lecture  period  by  the  principal,  which  we  attended, 
reflected  the  daily  life  and  work  of  the  school.  The  period 
began  as  every  period  does,  with  song.  This  was  a 
rousing  religious-patriotic  song  through  which  the  youth 
pledges  himself  to  God  and  fatherland.  The  particular 
lecture  theme  was,  "  Grundtvig's  Influence  on  History, 
Poetry,  and  Song."  The  high  school  "  inspirer  "  as  he 
is  at  his  best  was  seen  in  Mr.  Bredsdorf,  who  so  filled  his 
listeners  with  enthusiasm  that  they  hung  on  his  every 
word. 


TYPICAL   FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  245 

We  ate  dinner  with  the  students  and  faculty.  The 
fare  was  exceedingly  simple.  But,  then,  the  students  in 
this  particular  school  pay  only  twenty-two  kroner  per 
month  for  board  and  room,  equivalent  to  about  $5.95 ! 
The  charge  for  tuition  is  twenty-three  kroner  for  the 
first  month,  eighteen  kroner  for  the  second,  thirteen  for 
the  third,  eight  for  the  fourth,  and  three  for  the  fifth. 

The  course  of  study  had  the  usual  broad  historical 
basis.  "  History,"  said  Bredsdorf,  "  must  be  consid- 
ered as  never  ending.  All  play  their  role  in  it.  It  is  a 
living  stream  in  which  is  the  power  and  the  destiny  of 
the  eternal.  All  must  do  their  little  mite  in  order  that 
the  stream  can  sweep  on  resistlessly  as  is  its  destiny." 

Love  of  land  and  home  and  church  fructify  under  this 
school  influence.  Somehow,  while  the  sturdy  farm  youth 
are  seated  on  the  hard  benches  listening,  the  crust  to 
their  better  selves  gives  way  and  the  soul  shines  through 
—  they  become  converts  to  the  high  school  faith.  Then 
and  there,  they  become  better  Christians,  better  Danes, 
ready  to  put  self-interest  aside  in  order  that  God  and 
native  land  may  get  what  by  right  is  felt  to  be  theirs ! 

During  the  afternoon  intermission,  groups  of  young 
men  continued  to  discuss  the  more  vital  points  raised  in 
the  morning  lectures.  Some  of  these  concerned  questions 
of  such  ethical  and  philosophical  nature  as  the  farm 
youth  of  most  countries  would  seldom  care  to  approach. 
The  zeal  of  the  students  and  instructors  cannot  be  better 


246  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

demonstrated  than  in  this,  that  one  of  the  busy  faculty 
members  of  Roskilde  walked  all  the  way  to  town  with 
us  in  his  eagerness  to  explain  some  of  the  great  points  in 
the  school  doctrines.  He  left  us  only  when  he  had  to 
hasten  back  to  make  his  evening  lecture,  which  strangely 
enough  was  to  deal  with  "  Lincoln  and  the  Emancipation 
of  the  Negro  Slaves  "  ! 

Fredriksborg  Folk  High  School,  the  Inspirer  of  Eng- 
lish Schools.  —  This  is  one  of  the  most  renowned  of  the 
newer  schools.  It  was  founded  by  the  well-known  Askov 
instructor,  Holger  Begtrup,  in  1895.  As  a  high  school 
leader  Begtrup  is  known  as  few  others,  being  a  much 
sought  leader  in  the  extension  courses  out  among  rural 
communities.  Up  to  1902,  he  had  delivered  2000 
lectures  outside  of  the  classroom.  He  is,  moreover, 
ranked  as  an  able  historian,  having  recently  completed 
his  great  work  on  "  Denmark  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury." An  ardent  follower  of  the  famous  poet,  J.  C. 
Hostrup,  who  was  also  a  great  patron  of  the  folk  high 
schools,  Begtrup  became  determined  when  the  poet 
died  in  1892,  to  raise  up  a  school  in  Hostrup's  home  com- 
munity as  the  most  practical  way  to  honor  the  memory 
of  a  man  who  in  life  gave  the  best  he  had  for  Denmark. 

Thus  Fredriksborg  Folkehojskole  came  into  being  at 
Hillerod  in  northeast  Zealand.  The  name  (originally 
intended  as  "  Hostrupsminde  ")  is  that  of  the  renowned 
royal  Fredriksborg  castle  on  the  edge  of  Hillerod  village, 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  247 

which  naturally  became  fastened  to  the  school.  The 
institution  and  its  grounds  are  very  attractive.  It  com- 
prises a  large,  well-built  main  building,  and  several 
smaller  structures  together  with  teachers'  cottages  and 
a  school  church.  The  latter  is  a  "  free  church  "  —  i.e. 
established  by  the  school  and  community  as  a  voluntary 
organization  outside  of  the  state  church.  These  churches 
are  found  as  members  in  most  of  the  high  school  organiza- 
tions, and  their  origin  is  easily  traced  to  the  movement 
for  freedom  within  the  Church  begun  by  Grundtvig  in 
the  early  day.  Twenty-five  acres  of  land  comprise  the 
beautiful,  well-planted  campus,  garden,  park,  and  home 
farm  on  which  latter  vegetables  and  fruit  are  raised  for 
school  consumption. 

The  winter  school  (November-March)  at  Fredriksborg 
is  usually  attended  by  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
to  one  hundred  and  forty  young  men  of  sterling  worth. 
The  summer  school  (May-July)  for  young  women  is 
larger,  often  passing  the  two  hundred  mark. 

Principal  Begtrup  emphasized,  for  our  particular 
benefit,  the  vast  importance  of  the  folk  high  school  to 
Danish  rural  life.  "  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  leaders  in 
dairy  work,  and  all  the  other  cooperative  enterprises," 
he  stated,  "  are  high  school  men."  He  further  called 
attention  to  the  extension  course  influence  emanating 
from  the  schools.  The  kingdom  has  a  veritable  network 
of  organizations  at  work  holding  meetings,  lecturing  on  all 


248  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

manner  of  inspirational  and  practical  subjects.  "  This 
work,"  said  Begtrup,  "  is  done  by  high-school  trained 
men.  And  more  than  this,  our  schools  return  all  their 
students  to  the  plow,  happy  and  contented." 

On  the  wall  of  the  general  lecture  room  at  Fredriksborg, 
back  of  the  rostrum  where  all  the  listeners  can  see  it, 
hangs  a  large  painting  by  Viggo  Petersen,  which  sym- 
bolizes well  the  work  of  the  school.  It  is  a  Bible  scene. 
Isaac  stands  in  the  open  field  before  the  tents  as  sunrise 
tints  the  landscape  in  wonderful  color  waiting  to  receive 
Rebecca,  his  betrothed,  coming  out  of  the  North. 
The  remarkable  scene  symbolizes  the  Danish  peasantry- 
waiting  for  the  light  of  education,  brought  to  them  by 
that  modern  Eleezer,  Grundtvig ! 

Fredriksborg  offers  interesting  continuation  courses 
for  advanced  students.  These  are  organized  into  an 
association  called,  rather  sententiously,  the  "  Window," 
or  "  The  Window  in  the  West " ;  the  idea  being  that 
this  class  of  advanced  and  mature  students  should  be 
looking  out  from  the  windows  of  life  with  serious  thought 
towards  the  ultimate  purpose  of  being. 

Principal  Begtrup  gave  an  interesting  lecture  on  Leo 
Tolstoy,  which  was  followed  closely,  eagerly  almost, 
by  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  young  auditors. 
The  speaker  sparkled  with  wit  and  humor,  giving  besides, 
a  lecture  so  historically  deep  and  philosophically  acute, 
that  many  university  students  would  have  been  put  to 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  249 

their  best  paces  to  follow  it.  One  of  the  remarkable 
things  about  the  folk  schools  is,  that  in  the  unusually 
short  time  of  five  months  the  students  are  enabled  to 
get  a  really  helpful  outline  on  philosophy,  history,  and 
literature ;  and,  in  addition,  many  practical  things,  much 
gymnastics  and  song.  As  to  the  latter,  Holger  Begtrup 
expressed  it :  "  We  have  much  song,  Northern  song ; 
though  perhaps  not  what  some  people  would  call  '  fine  ' 
song." 

Fredriksborg  holds  the  unique  position  of  being  the 
touching  point  between  the  Danish  folk  high  schools  and 
the  schools  of  a  similar  nature  now  rooting  themselves 
in  English  soil.  The  first  school  of  this  kind  was  opened 
at  Bourn ville,  near  Birmingham,  in  1909,  by  Tom  Bryan, 
a  scholarly  gentleman,  whose  inspiration  to  establish 
such  a  school  came  to  him  while  he  was  listening  to  a 
lecture  in  one  of  the  Danish  schools.  During  the  last 
few  years  a  most  interesting  exchange  of  ideas  has 
been  going  on  between  Fredriksborg  and  Fircroft,  the 
Bournville  school.  Both  teachers  and  students  have 
been  exchanged.  A  year  ago  a  group  of  fifty  English 
teachers  visited  Fredriksborg.  The  past  two  years  an 
enthusiastic  young  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Jonty 
Hanaghan  has  been  at  Fredriksborg  preparing  himself 
to  do  folk  high  school  work  in  Yorkshire,  while  a  young 
Englishwoman,  his  betrothed,  is  equipping  herself  for  the 
same  work  at  Vallekilde.  During  1912,  nearly  one  fourth 


250  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  the  Fircroft  students  were  Danes  from  the  Fredriks- 
borg  community.  In  this  way  the  two  countries  are 
beginning  to  reach  out  to  one  another  a  helping  hand  to 
the  end  that  — 

"  The  toiler,  bent 
Above  his  forge  or  plow,  may  gain 
A  manlier  spirit  of  content, 
And  feel  that  life  is  wisest  spent 
When  the  strong  working  hand  makes  strong 
The  working  brain." 

Vallekilde,  A  Great  Folk  High  School.  —  Immediately 
after  the  close  of  the  disastrous  German  war  of  1864, 
Ernst  Trier,  one  of  the  three  or  four  greatest  schoolmen 
that  Denmark  has  produced,  laid  the  foundations  of 
Vallekilde,  in  northeast  Zealand.  He  felt  that  now 
Denmark's  only  hope  lay  in  education.  "  The  folk  high 
schools,"  he  said,  "  alone  can  lift  the  disheartened  peo- 
ple." He  opened  the  school  in  rented  quarters  in  1865. 
Success  came  from  the  very  first,  because  he  was  inspired 
for  the  great  task.  To-day,  his  son-in-law  and  successor, 
Poul  Hansen,  stands  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  most 
complete  and  influential  schools  in  the  country. 

Ninety  acres  of  fine  rolling  land,  laid  out  to  ornamental 
gardens,  parkings,  experimental  plots,  and  school  farm, 
comprise  the  working  area  of  the  school.  In  this  lies  a 
regular  village  of  buildings.  This  appears  graphically 
from  the  accompanying  drawing.  The  most  important 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS 


251 


252  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  the  structures  are  a  large,  fire-proof  central  school 
building  with  dormitory  capacity  for  two  hundred,  a 
good,  carefully  equipped  gymnasium,  a  building  for 
manual  training,  and  another  for  art  work.  There  are 
cottages  for  all  the  married  teachers,  a  school  church, 
and  an  elementary  school  for  the  children  of  the  faculty. 

The  school  farm  has  some  remarkable  buildings  that 
deserve  at  least  a  passing  notice.  The  entire  plant,  by 
the  way,  including  cowbarns,  stables,  and  hoghouses,  is 
lighted  by  electricity  generated  by  means  of  wind  power. 
The  enormous  windmill  was  the  first  of  its  kind  erected 
by  the  famous  Askov  teacher-scientist,  Poul  la  Cour. 
The  mill  is  fitted  with  storage  batteries  of  sufficient  size 
to  supply  current  for  a  week  at  a  time  in  case  of  still 
weather. 

In  the  fine  sanitary  cowbarns,  thirty  thoroughbred  red 
Fiinen  cows  are  kept  installed.  As  an  illustration  of 
careful  economy  in  everything  agricultural,  all  liquid 
manure  from  these  barns  is  made  to  pass  by  cement 
gutters  to  outside  cisterns,  whence  it  is  forced  by  electric 
power  to  the  meadows  and  plowed  ground,  and  carefully 
sprinkled  over  the  soil.  The  school  butchers  its  own 
pork  and  beef.  But  the  cream  all  goes  to  the  cooperative 
creamery  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  butter  is  actually 
"  bought  back  "  by  the  school.  There  is  also  a  large 
school  bakery  on  the  campus,  and  a  well-equipped 
hospital  with  separate  building  for  contagious  diseases. 


GYMNASTICS  AT  VALLEKILDE  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOL. 


GYMNASTICS  AT  VALLEKILDE. 
Another  view  of  the  same  students. 


TYPICAL  FOLK   HIGH   SCHOOLS  253 

Vallekilde  has  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  young  men  in  attendance  during  the  win- 
ter months  and  two  hundred  young  women  during  the 
summer  time.  The  young  men  are  divided  into  distinct 
groups  as  "  agriculturists  "  and  "  industrialists.''  The 
former  prepare,  as  the  name  would  indicate,  for  soil 
tilling  pure  and  simple ;  and  the  latter  are  to  become 
farm  artisans  of  various  kinds.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  Vallekilde,  which  has  retained  the  early  high 
school  philosophy  in  all  its  purity,  is  able  to  combine 
with  this  a  large  degree  of  the  practical  without  losing 
any  of  the  cultural  values.  To  be  sure,  the  entire  in- 
dustrial group  must  attend  all  the  general  lectures  and 
live  in  the  same  "  atmosphere  "  as  the  other  students. 
And,  the  industrial  work  is  chiefly  theory,  after  all. 
Such  subjects  as  these  are  taught :  the  history  of  archi- 
tecture, building  construction,  drawing,  —  freehand, 
mechanical,  machine,  —  painting  (practical  work),  cal- 
culation, bookkeeping,  and  penmanship.  The  agricul- 
tural group  makes  some  approach  to  the  practical 
through  occasional  lectures  in  agriculture  and  horti- 
culture, drawing  and  actual  field  work  in  surveying  and 
leveling. 

Vallekilde  is  strong  in  gymnastics  and  play  life  and 
song.  The  young  women  of  the  summer  school  are 
offered  exceptional  opportunities  for  the  study  of  hand- 
work, music,  and  the  fine  arts.  But  these  studies 


254  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

are  considered  as  incidental  merely  to  the  culture  lec- 
tures. 

It  was  the  writer's  pleasure  to  be  permitted  to  spend 
a  night  at  "  Hytten,"  or  the  lodge,  the  most  interesting 
of  all  the  buildings  on  the  campus.  "  Hytten  "  is  held 
sacred  in  the  memory  of  all  Vallekilde  students. 
There  is  scarcely  a  student  but  has  been  made  a  better 
man  or  woman  for  having  come  within  its  benign 
influence. 

The  story  is  this :  Ingeborg  Trier,  a  daughter  of 
Ernst  Trier,  was  born  into  the  Vallekilde  high  school 
world  in  the  late  sixties,  a  true  daughter  of  a  great 
father.  All  her  life  she  gave  to  the  cause  of  the  men 
and  women  who  toil  close  to  the  soil.  As  a  young  girl 
she  led  the  other  girls  in  their  games  and  gymnastics. 
She  was  the  woman  who  later  taught  the  girls  gym- 
nastics in  such  a  way  that  they  learned  the  significance 
of  being  created  in  God's  own  image.  Then  she  married 
Niels  Hansen,  brother  of  Principal  Poul  Hansen,  who 
is  farm  manager  at  Vallekilde.  She  was  brought  as  a 
bride  to  "  Hytten,"  and  there  she  remained  to  the 
day  of  her  death,  a  mother  to  the  whole  school.  When 
she  was  put  to  her  final  rest  a  few  years  ago,  one  thou- 
sand old  students  and  friends  gathered  from  all  Den- 
mark to  do  her  the  last  honors. 

"  Hytten  "  was  open  to  every  student  in  the  school. 
Here  they  came  to  plan  their  pleasures,  to  rest  from 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  255 

the  work  of  the  classroom.  Here  they  sang  and  played 
their  games.  But  more :  here  came  the  young  woman 
to  confide  her  heartaches  to  the  mistress  of  the  house, 
usually  to  go  away  again  with  the  balm  of  Gilead  in 
her  heart;  here  came,  too,  the  young  man  who  sought 
soul  rest,  and  the  wild  young  fellow  who  had  gone 
wrong,  and  Ingeborg  Trier  Hansen  had  words  of  wis- 
dom for  them  all.  No  wonder  that  thousands  look 
towards  "  Hytten  "  with  benedictions  in  their  hearts. 

This  bit  of  sentiment  is  given  a  place  here  because 
it  comes  pretty  near  disclosing  the  secret  to  the  success 
of  the  high  school  men  and  women.  The  folk  high 
school  life  at  its  best  is  a  communion  of  man  to  man, 
the  work  of  emancipated  leaders  consecrated  to  the 
work  of  freeing  others. 

Haslev,  a  Folk  High  School  of  the  Practical  Kind.  — 
This  school  is  one  of  a  group  of  six  schools  founded 
by  the  "  Inner  Mission  Church "  —  an  independent 
church  body.  To  be  exact,  the  school  is  owned  by  an 
association  of  church  members  which  seeks  to  reach 
primarily  its  own  membership,  though  all  students  are 
made  welcome.  The  "  patriotic-spiritual  "  life  which 
stamps  the  regular  Grundtvigian  schools  is  possibly 
not  so  marked  at  Haslev.  On  the  other  hand  —  being 
a  church  institution  —  religious  subjects  are  actually 
taught  as  part  of  the  course  of  study. 

The  school  lies  on  the  edge  of  Haslev,  a  small  town 


256  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

in  south-central  Zealand.  The  buildings  are  set  in  a 
tract  of  seventy-five  acres,  fifteen  acres  of  which  are 
devoted  to  campus,  parking,  experiment,  plot,  and 
garden.  The  rest  of  the  land  is  farmed,  and  supplies 
milk,  meat,  and  vegetables  for  the  school.  Three  good- 
sized  buildings  are  used  immediately  for  teaching  pur- 
poses, besides  ample  barns,  stables,  and  so  on.  There 
is  dormitory  capacity  for  two  hundred  and  ten  persons. 
Electricity  is  freely  applied  in  this  school  from  peel- 
ing potatoes  in  the  school  kitchen  to  running  the 
threshing  machine  at  the  school  barns. 

The  study  courses  here  aim  to  reach  two  classes 
particularly:  (i)  those  who  are  to  till  the  soil;  and 
(2)  those  who  are  to  live  as  artisans  in  the  country.  It 
is  interesting  to  see  how  the  school  seeks  to  train  the 
actual  soil-tillers  and  the  country  artisans  as  well, 
thereby  keeping  alive  in  the  country  a  twofold  civili- 
zation. 

The  first  mentioned  of  the  two  classes  is  really  what 
the  other  schools  would  designate  the  regular  cultural 
group,  though  here  at  Haslev  it  becomes  the  farm 
group.  It  gets  less  of  the  inspirational  work  offered 
by  the  former  schools,  but  more  of  religious  lectures 
and  practical  agricultural  work.  Forty-five  hour 
periods  are  devoted  to  class  work  each  week  by  the 
young  men  in  the  winter  school,  as  appears  from  the 
following  enumeration : 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  257 

REGULAR  HIGH  SCHOOL  SECTION  FOR  MEN 

Lectures  on  Bible  History 3  hours  weekly 

Lectures  on  Church  History 2  hours  weekly 

General  Lecture i  hour   weekly 

Biographies  of  Great  Men i  hour   weekly 

Question  Hour i  hour   weekly 

History  of  Missions 2  hours  weekly 

History  of  Denmark 2  hours  weekly 

Lectures  on  General  History 2  hours  weekly 

Lectures  on  the  History  of  Literature i  hour   weekly 

Danish  (Composition,  Analysis,  Classics) 5  hours  weekly 

Accounting 4  hours  weekly 

Penmanship i  hour   weekly 

Natural  Science 2  hours  weekly 

Drawing 2  hours  weekly 

Geography 2  hours  weekly 

Sanitation i  hour   weekly 

Horticulture       i  hour   weekly 

Farm  Accounting i  hour   weekly 

Gymnastics 3  hours  weekly 

Agriculture 6  hours  weekly 

Song  Drill 2  hours  weekly 

45  hours  weekly 

The  seven  hours  devoted  to  agriculture  and  horti- 
culture include  the  history  of  agriculture,  practical 
work  hi  planning  the  farm,  platting  and  planting  gardens, 
and  field  work  in  surveying  and  leveling,  pruning  of 
fruit  trees,  and  like  work. 

The  summer  course  for  young  women  is  quite  similar 
to  the  course  described  above,  with  this  exception, 
that  six  hours  of  handwork  (plain  sewing,  embroidery, 
knitting,  and  dressmaking)  is  substituted  for  the  agri- 
culture. It  is  well  to  add  here  that  the  summer  schools 
for  women  in  all  the  folk  high  schools  require  much 
handwork  —  in  few  less  than  one  hour  daily, 
s 


258  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

The  artisan  group  at  Haslev  is  subdivided  into 
smaller  groups  or  classes,  as  carpenters,  brick  and 
stone  masons,  smiths,  machinists,  painters,  tinners, 
and  wheelwrights.  The  courses  of  study  for  carpenters 
and  masons  serve  to  illustrate  the  kind  of  work  required 
from  the  entire  group. 

The  courses  cover  three  winters  of  five  months  each, 
and  are  intended  especially  to  answer  the  needs  of 
country  artisans  who  work  during  the  summer  months. 
The  first  year  is  devoted  more  particularly  to  theory 
—  i.e.  geometrical  drawing,  projection,  algebra,  and 
geometry.  The  second  year  class  emphasizes  building 
construction.  By  the  close  of  this  year  the  students 
are  able  to  draw  plans  and  specifications  of  fair  size 
farm  buildings.  By  the  close  of  the  third  year  they 
make  their  own  drawings  and  calculate  the  size  of 
timbers,  iron  supports,  and  similar  materials  with  great 
accuracy.  Much  practical  work  is  done  on  the  premises, 
although  most  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  miniature 
buildings  and  models. 

The  artisans  are  required  to  follow  this  weekly 
schedule  : 

Lectures  (in  regular  high  school  section) 12  hours 

Danish  (composition,  analysis,  classics)        6  hours 

Accounting  —  arithmetic       4  hours 

Bookkeeping i  hour 

Natural  Science i  hour 

Gymnastics 3  hours 

Technical  Subjects 22  hours 

49  hours 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  259 

Haslev  is  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  is  sending  out 
annually  scores  of  practically  trained  artisans  who  not 
only  know  their  profession,  but  who  are  also  equipped 
with  the  additional  advantages  of  having  spanned  the 
gap  between  the  deadening  work-a-day  in  life  and  the 
higher  culture  life  which  of  right  should  be  the  common 
heritage  of  all. 

Ryslinge  in  Fiinen.  A  Historic  School.  —  Ryslinge, 
which  is  a  small  country  village  in  south-central  Fiinen, 
beautifully  situated  in  a  prosperous  agricultural  com- 
munity, holds  high  place  in  folk  school  history.  It  was 
early  brought  into  notice  because  here  Kristen  Kold 
opened  his  first  school  in  1851.  But  the  community 
has  been  prominent  in  many  other  ways.  The  free 
church  movement  began  here  in  the  early  day.  The 
first  "  Valgmenighed,"  or  free  choice  congregation,  was 
founded  here  —  i.e.  a  congregation  in  which  the  member- 
ship is  free  to  choose  its  own  pastor  instead  of  being 
obliged  to  accept  one  appointed  by  the  State.  Here, 
too,  were  organized  the  first  "  skytteforeninger "  or 
associations  of  sharpshooters,  which  built  at  Ryslinge 
the  first  of  the  rural  assembly  halls  now  found  in  every 
country  commune.  Nowhere  have  the  gymnastic  or- 
'ganizations  prospered  more  than  here. 

Ryslinge  Folk  High  School  can  scarcely  be  considered 
a  continuation  of  Kold's  school,  though  it  has  taken  to 
itself  all  the  spirit  and  all  the  traditions  of  this  school. 


260  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

As  it  now  stands,  Ryslinge  owes  its  origin  to  former 
Army  Chaplain  Johannes  Clausen,  who  began  his  school 
activities  here  in  1866.  He  was  pastor  of  the  local 
church  and  really  intended  his  school  for  an  "  Inner 
Mission  "  institution.  But  he  brought  several  teachers 
—  his  intimate  friends  —  into  the  school,  who  had 
strong  Grundtvigian  tendencies.  This  indiscretion  prob- 
ably cost  the  principal  his  position;  but  it  gradually 
gave  the  school  new  coloring,  so  that  to-day  it  stands 
for  the  purest  of  Grundtvig's  philosophy. 

In  1884,  a  new  era  began  at  Ryslinge  when  Alfred 
Poulsen  was  chosen  principal.  He  came  from  Lyngby 
Agricultural  School;  where  he  had  been  in  charge  of 
the  folk  high  school  department.  Poulsen  is  one  of 
the  biggest  schoolmen  in  the  active  charge  of  the  schools 
at  the  present  time.  The  most  lucid  delineation  of  the 
folk  high  schools  ever  penned  in  English  is  from  his 
hand.  He  is  also  the  President  of  the  Association  of 
Folk  High  Schools  and  Agricultural  Schools,  an  organi- 
zation which  has  been  of  vast  importance  in  unifying 
the  work  of  the  schools,  and  in  getting  for  them  the 
necessary  state  recognition  and  aid. 

Professor  Poulsen  is  one  of  the  most  ardent  advo- 
cates of  the  policy  to  keep  the  folk  high  schools  as  free 
as  possible  from  textbooks  and  classroom  practices. 
"  It  is  a  great  mistake,"  he  says,  "  and  contrary  to  the 
high  school  philosophy,  to  combine  this  school  with 


RYSLLXGE,  AX  HISTORIC  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOL. 
It  is  beautiful  for  location,  and  the  memories  of  Kristen  Kold  still  linger  there. 


TEACHER'S  COTTAGE. 
This  is  typical  of  the  older  homelike,  thatched  sort  of  house. 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  261 

agricultural  schools,  or  with  other  departments  requir- 
ing much  study.  The  right  spiritual  uplift  of  the  man 
and  opening  of  the  soul  demands,  first  of  all,  peace  and 
quiet.  Where  there  is  much  book  activity  there  can 
be  little  time  for  meditation  and  the  living  word  be- 
comes powerless." 1  His  fear  is  that  many  practical 
subjects  strongly  emphasized  will  force  the  real  spirit 
of  the  folk  schools  into  the  background  —  ultimately 
to  get  only  such  time  for  lectures  as  cannot  be  used  for 
"  practical  "  purposes.  A  majority  of  the  schoolmen 
seem  to  share  these  views. 

Ryslinge  is  remarkably  well  built  and  attractive.  Its 
attendance  is  limited  to  two  hundred  young  men  in 
winter  and  two  hundred  young  women  in  summer. 
Months  before  a  term  opens  the  matriculation  sheets 
are  closed,  and  the  students  are  refused  for  want  of  room. 
The  fact  that  such  schools  deliberately  limit  themselves 
to  a  comparatively  small  number  of  students  should 
convey  a  hint  to  schools  where  big  numbers  too  often 
play  the  master  role. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  take  the  time  here  for  a  review  of 
the  work  seen  at  Ryslinge.  In  organization  of  courses, 
in  daily  life,  and  in  other  ways  it  resembles  Vallekilde 
very  much,  so  that  to  tell  the  story  of  one  school  is  to 
give  that  of  the  other.  Our  sojourn  there  was  delightful 
and  instructive,  although  cut  short  because  of  the  prin- 
cipal's forced  absence  from  home. 

1  "The  Danish  Popular  High  School,"  p.  7. 


262  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

Askov  "  Expanded  "  Folk  High  School.  —  When 
Slesvig  became  German  territory  Rodding  Folk  High 
School  was  transplanted,  it  will  be  recalled,  root  and 
branch,  to  loyal  soil,  north  of  Kongeaaen  (King's  River), 
which  marks  the  new  boundary.  Vejen  is  an  unimpor- 
tant country  village  on  the  railroad  between  Kolding  and 
Esbjerg,  and  the  topography  of  the  country  is,  on  the 
whole,  monotonous  and  uninteresting.  In  spite  of  all 
this,  no  spot  in  Denmark  has  greater  historic  memories, 
nowhere  is  the  patriotic  lif e  and  the  folk  life  more  keenly 
alive  than  here  on  the  frontier.  Askov  Folk  High  School, 
the  greatest  of  all  the  folk  high  schools,  lies  in  the  midst 
of  this  community,  a  short  half  hour's  walk  south  from 
Vejen,  right  in  sight  of  the  German  frontier  —  and  this  is 
reason  enough.  Had  Denmark  built  strong,  frowning 
earthworks  along  the  boundary  they  could  not  have  been 
the  national  defense  that  it  now  has  hi  the  work  of  this 
school !  North  of  the  line  the  people  have  become 
welded  in  clear-sighted,  far-seeing  nationality,  and  south 
of  it  Danish  spirit  and  Danish  language  are  kept  alive 
whether  to  German  liking  or  not.  It  is  a  significant 
fact  that  a  large  number  of  young  people  from  the 
German  side  of  the  boundary  may  be  seen  not  only  at 
Askov,  but  at  the  other  schools  in  the  peninsula  and  over 
on  the  islands. 

Askov  is  a  direct  continuation  of  the  first  school 
established  in  Denmark,  and  has  retained  all  the  old 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  263 

traditions.  Above  the  portal  of  the  oldest  of  its  many 
school  buildings  may  yet  be  seen  the  inscription  :  "  Flors 
Hojskole,"  in  remembrance  of  Dr.  Christian  Flor,  the 
early  champion  of  Rodding.  Ludvig  Schroder  brought 
the  school  across  the  boundary  and  directed  its  work  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1908.  During  these  years 
remarkable  progress  has  been  made.  The  school  was 
at  first  conducted  as  an  ordinary  folk  high  school ;  but 
in  1878  it  was  reorganized  as  the  "  Expanded  "  Askov. 

Prominent  high  school  leaders  had  ever  since  Grundt- 
vig's  time  kept  alive  the  hope  that  Soro  Academy  would 
eventually  be  converted  into  a  great  central  high  school 
with  continuation  courses  for  students  from  the  other 
schools.  But  all  hope  finally  failed,  and  by  common  con- 
sent Askov  was  chosen  instead.  Indeed,  such  men  as  Ernst 
Trier  of  Vallekilde  and  J.  Fink,  an  old  Ryslinge  leader, 
and  their  supporters  were  among  the  first  to  point  to 
Askov  as  the  logical  place  for  such  a  school.  "  Danish 
High  School  Association  "  was  organized  to  look  after 
the  financial  side  of  the  problem,  with  such  marked 
success  that  the  reorganized  school  could  begin  its  work 
as  early  as  November,  1878. 

At  the  present  time  the  following  courses  are  offered : 
An  advanced  course  for  men,  covering  two  winter  sessions 
of  six  months  each;  an  advanced  course  for  young 
women,  also  covering  two  winter  sessions  of  six  months 
each;  and  a  regular  summer  course  for  young  women. 


264  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

In  the  advanced  courses  the  men  and  women  attend 
the  lectures  in  common ;  although  in  most  of  their  other 
work  they  have  separate  classrooms.  The  men  alone 
reside  at  the  school  dormitories  during  the  winter  ses- 
sions. The  women  students  find  accommodation  in  the 
small  village  that  is  springing  up  around  the  school 
grounds. 

Some  two  hundred  and  sixty  men  and  women  —  the 
pick  of  the  advanced  folk  high  school  students  —  were 
in  attendance  at  the  time  of  our  visit.  Many  of  these 
had  completed  the  regular  courses  in  the  other  folk  high 
schools ;  some  were  here  from  the  agricultural  schools ; 
some  from  teachers'  seminaries  and  from  the  "  learned  " 
schools ;  and  still  others  had  come  from  the  National 
Polytechnic  Institute  and  the  National  University. 
This  enthusiastic  throng  was  here  preparatory  to  going 
out  into  the  other  folk  high  schools  as  teachers  and 
inspirers. 

The  summer  courses  at  Askov  differ  but  little  from  the 
summer  work  in  the  other  schools.  Even  the  first  year 
of  the  advanced  course  is  practically  the  same  as  offered 
elsewhere.  The  difference  lies  in  the  second  year's 
work.  Throughout,  there  is  more  actual  book  study, 
methods,  and  laboratory  work.  The  natural  and  social 
sciences,  especially,  receive  much  attention. 

The  following  daily  programs  will  give  a  good  idea  of 
school  work  at  Askov : 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS 


DAILY  PROGRAM,  SUMMER  SCHOOL  FOR  YOUNG  WOMEN,  1913. 


Hours 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday 

»-9 

Social  Science 

Geography 

Nature  Study 

9-10 

Gymnastics 

IO-II 

Danish 

Arithmetic 

Danish 

Arithmetic 

Danish 

Arithmetic 

11-12 

Literature 

General  History 

Noon 

I.3O-i.30 

a.  Drawing 

Handwork 

Drawing 

Handwork 

Drawing 

Handwork 

6.  Handwork 

Drawing 

Handwork 

Drawing 

Handwork 

Drawing 

s-30-3 

Song  practice 

3-«5-4-*S 

Natural  History 

Sanitation 

Elocution 

Danish 

4-35-5-45 

Discussions 

Sewing 

Discussions 

6-7 

Evening  lectures 

Lecture  each  Sunday  afternoon  at  5.30  o'clock. 


266 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 


DAILY  PROGRAM,  WINTER  SCHOOL  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  1913. 

(First  Year) 


Hours 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday 

8-9 

Discussion 
on  Mathe- 
matics 

Discussion 
in       His- 
tory      of 
the  North 

Mathematics 

Hygiene  and  Sanitation 

9-10 

Gymnastics 

10.30-11.30 

Historical  Physics 

General  History 

Natural  Science 

11.30-12.30 

Geog- 
raphy 

Discussion 
in 
Physics 

Geography 

Accounting 

12.30-8 

Drawing 

Discussion 
in 
General 
History 

Drawing 

Swimming 

Discussion 
in 
General 
History 

3-30-4 

Song  Practice 

4-5 

Sociology 

English 
or 
German 

Lectures 

English 
or 
German 

S-6 

Danish 

Danish 

Discussion 
in 
Natural 
Science 

Discussion 
in 
Mathe- 
matics 

Danish 

Danish 

6-7 

History  of  Literature 

History  of  the  North 

TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS 


267 


DAILY  PROGRAM,  WINTER  SCHOOL  FOR  MEN,  1913. 

(Second  Year) 


Hours 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday 

8-9 

Literature  of  all  Nations 

Adv.  Geography 

Applied  Mathematics 

9-10 

Gymnastics 

10.30-11.30 

Physics 

General  History 

Natural  Science 

11.30-12.30 

Adv.  Alge- 
bra 

English 
or 
German 

Adv.  Algebra 

English  or 
German 

12.30-2 

Discussion 
in  Gen. 
History 

Drawing  and  Laboratory  Practice 

Swimming 

3-30-4 

Song  Practice 

4-5 

History  of  Religion 

Hygiene 
and 
Sanitation 

Biology 

Sociology 

5-6 

Discussion 
in  History 
of  the 
North 

Danish 

Discussion 
in  General 
History 

Danish 

Danish 

Danish 

6-7 

History  of  Literature 

History  of  the  North 

Askov  has  had  associated  with  it  the  names  of  such 
great  men  as  Poul  la  Cour,  Svend  Hogsbro,  and  others. 
La  Cour  is  known  to  the  world  for  utilizing  wind  power 
to  generate  electric  current.  The  mill  at  Askov  is  built 
above  a  very  interesting  electrical  laboratory,  off  in  a 
grove  of  trees  b.y  itself.  The  mill  furnishes  current 
to  light  the  entire  school,  a  score  or  more  buildings, 
besides  supplying  all  the  electricity  required  for  experi- 
mental purposes.  The  laboratory  was  primarily  in- 
tended for  advanced  research  work  only;  but,  of  late, 
two  weeks'  courses  have  been  added  for  farmers  and 
their  hired  men  and  dairy  employees,  who  are  all  obliged 


268  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

to  understand  the  general  principles  of  electricity,  since 
this  is  coming  more  and  more  into  use  for  lighting  the 
farmsteads  and  running  the  dairies. 

October  6  to  14,  1874,  marked  the  beginning,  in  Den- 
mark, of  a  most  remarkable  system  of  extension  work. 
At  that  time  some  seventy  or  eighty  young  and  old 
people  met  at  Askov  and  "  lived  "  for  more  than  a  week 
in  an  atmosphere  charged  with  religious  fervor,  patriotic 
zeal,  and  eager  desire  to  help  one's  fellow  men.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  annual  meetings  which 
grew  in  importance  with  time.  Each  autumn  larger 
throngs  of  the  peasantry  and  town  folk  flocked  to  the 
school. 

This  movement  was  not  limited  to  Askov  alone.  In  a 
short  time  other  folk  high  schools  and  agricultural  schools 
had  taken  it  up  and  the  two  weeks'  autumn  meetings 
were  being  held  all  over  the  land.  School  buildings 
proved  too  small  to  hold  the  throngs,  and  groves  of 
trees  near  by  were  used  instead.  Some  schools  have  their 
natural  woods,  while  others  have  been  obliged  to  make 
plantations  for  this  purpose. 

Askov  has  a  historic  grove  for  its  great  meetings, 
which,  by  the  way,  are  no  longer  limited  to  the  autumn 
time,  but  are  held  during  spring  and  summer  as  well. 
This  is  "  Skibelund  Krat,"  a  small  forest  of  gnarled  oaks 
and  other  trees,  a  few  minutes'  walk  south  of  the  school, 
overlooking  the  German  frontier.  This  spot  has  been 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


269 


sacred  ground  for  many  years.  Here  the  peasantry 
met  to  celebrate  the  signing  of  the  liberal  constitution 
of  1849;  and  here  have  the  Danes  south  of  the  border 
met  with  their  brothers  annually  since  the  war  to  renew 
their  vows  of  steadfastness  to  a  lost  cause.  Since  the 
coming  of  Askov,  Skibelund  has  become  a  veritable 


5C4LE.          J  MILC.S 


JUTLAND 


SCHOOL 


KMT. 


ffU** 


Mecca  for  the  high  school  folk.  All  kinds  of  popular 
meetings  are  held  here.  At  or  near  the  natural  amphi- 
theater where  the  speaking  is  held  are  busts  and  monu- 


270  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

ments  of  folk  leaders  who  have  given  their  lives  for  a 
happier  Denmark.  Among  the  others  can  be  seen  a 
great  memorial  to  Principal  Ludvig  Schroder  and  his 
wife,  who  died  some  six  years  ago.  Perhaps  the  most 
striking  thing  at  Skibelund  is  "  Modersmaalet,"  a  group 
monument  in  the  center  of  which  stands  a  woman  of 
heroic  size,  gazing  southward  — "  The  spirit  of  the 
Mother  tongue  "  —  blessing  her  divided  children. 

The  themes  discussed  at  these  gatherings  cover  a  wide 
range  of  knowledge.  At  first  they  were  limited  by  the 
folk  high  school  traditions  to  the  "  inspirational " 
lectures  in  history,  literature,  mythology,  and  like 
subjects.  But  with  time  the  field  has  broadened  until 
now  every  phase  of  ethics,  politics,  agriculture,  sociology, 
and  the  like  are  freely  discussed.  This  extension  work  is 
quite  similar  to  the  American  Chautauqua,  barring  the 
money  admission,  as  these  meetings  are  entirely  free. 

It  might  be  added  here  that  many  men  who  had  gained 
their  inspiration  at  the  high  school  meetings  later  organ- 
ized their  home  community  and  continued  the  great  work 
at  the  community  hall  and  gymnasium,  one  of  which 
may  be  found  in  every  rural  district.  In  the  towns  and 
cities  the  friends  of  the  new  education  built  Eojskolehjem 
or  High  School  Homes,  institutions  combining  many 
of  the  features  of  a  modern  Y.  M.  C.  A.  with  the  conven- 
ience of  a  first-class  hotel.  Even  Copenhagen  has  such 
an  institution,  called  Grundtvig's  Hus  (Grundtvig's 


TYPICAL  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  271 

House).  Aside  from  offering  the  facilities  of  first-class 
hostelries,  managed  in  a  truly  Christian  spirit,  these 
homes  are  the  rallying  centers  in  town  and  city  for  the 
new  extension  work.  Each  has  its  library  and  reading 
rooms,  and  holds  weekly  meetings  fashioned  after  the 
great  outdoor  meetings.  It  is  estimated  that  in  this 
way  a  wholesome  and  helpful  education  is  brought  to 
the  very  threshold  of  every  farmer  and  villager  hi  the 
kingdom. 

The  state  has  lent  marked  assistance  to  the  extension 
movement  by  encouraging  perambulating  courses  in 
agriculture  and  household  economics,  setting  aside  for 
this  work  annually  large  sums  to  pay  teachers  and 
lecturers.  To  this  should  be  added  that  the  Government 
maintains  a  national  service  of  "  control  assistants  "  — 
science  specialists  —  whose  services  as  speakers  and  agri- 
cultural organizers  may  be  had  for  the  asking: 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  TO  OTHER  NORTH  EUROPEAN 
COUNTRIES 

The  Adaptability  of  the  Folk  High  Schools. —  The 
question  naturally  arises,  could  such  institutions  as  the 
Danish  folk  high  schools  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  other 
countries?  They  were  born  of  peculiar  national  needs. 
Can  they  live  and  do  their  work  on  other  than  Danish 
soil?  The  answer  is  that  the  schools  have  been  quite 
adaptable  to  changed  conditions  and  needs.  They  have 
done  as  well,  in  fact,  outside  of  Denmark  as  at  home. 
It  is  true  that  the  transplantation  has  so  far  been  limited 
to  North  European  nations  of  kindred  origin  with  the 
Danish.  But  there  seems  little  doubt  that  Grundtvig's 
system,  especially  in  its  more  recent  practical  applica- 
tion, could  find  a  ready  field  for  usefulness  even  as  far 
from  the  land  of  its  origin  as  the  United  States.  Indeed, 
Danish  emigrants  have  already  made  a  beginning  at 
transplanting  them  to  American  soil. 

The  folk  high  schools  were  carried  to  the  mountain 
regions  of  Norway  hi  1864  where  they  have  flourished, 
considering  the  much  adverse  legislation.  In  1868, 
they  were  transplanted  to  Swedish  soil  where  forty-four 

272 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  273 

strong  schools,  somewhat  modified,  are  now  wielding  a 
remarkable  influence  in  farm  communities.  Finland 
has  found  the  folk  high  schools  a  national  bulwark  against 
Russian  aggression,  since  forty-three  such  schools  are 
now  keeping  alive  the  sturdy  Finnish  folklore.  Even 
Iceland  and  the  Faroes  have  each  one  high  school.  The 
next  step  was  the  successful  transplantation  to  England. 
The  first  school  of  the  kind  for  English-speaking  people 
began  its  activities  at  Bournville,  near  Birmingham,  in 
1909,  under  the  name  of  Fircroft  School.  Its  appeal 
has  been  especially  to  the  artisan  class  with  which  it  is 
doing  a  good  work.  A  second  school  is  just  being  opened 
in  Yorkshire,  which  will  be  watched  with  much  interest 
by  friends  of  the  movement. 

The  Folk  School  in  Sweden.  —  The  school  came  to 
Sweden  as  a  protest  against  a  deadening  materialism 
and  indifference  for  fatherland  and  nationality  that  had 
long  prevailed.  "  The  peasantry,"  according  to  Swedish 
thinkers  of  fifty  years  ago,  "  were  devoted  solely  to  their 
swine,  their  calves,  and  brandy  stills,  and  the  chief 
qualification  for  election  to  the  Riksdag  was  a  promise  to 
see  to  the  reduction  of  taxes.  The  great  social  questions 
of  the  future  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves." 

Then  rose  up  Dr.  August  Sohlman  (1824-1874),  editor 
of  the  Swedish  "  Aftonbladet,"  as  an  advocate  of  "  a  new 
kind  of  school  free  to  all  the  people  —  a  school  which 
might  also  become  a  means  to  reform  the  existing  narrow 

T 


2/4  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

humanistic  schools  and  lead  to  a  national  folk  culture."  l 
He  was  seconded  in  his  effort  by  many  leading  men  of  the 
day.  Ultimately  the  "Nordiske  Nationalf orening "  of- 
fered its  support  to  the  new  cause  with  the  result  that 
the  first  Swedish  folk  high  school  was  founded  at  Her- 
restad  in  East  Gothland,  November  i,  1868.  The  very 
same  day  another  school  was  opened  at  Onnestad  in 
Skaane,  and  one  day  later  Hvilan  Folk  High  School, 

o 

near  Akarp  in  southwest  Sweden,  threw  open  its 
doors. 

This  beginning  marked  a  renaissance  in  Swedish 
agricultural  life.  The  school  has  caused  the  same 
"  breaking  through  of  sleeping  souls  "  here  as  in  Den- 
mark. The  spirit  of  confidence  in  one's  neighbors  is 
just  as  marked  also.  Cooperative  enterprises  are  cluster- 
ing wherever  the  folk  high  schools  thrive.  In  Sweden, 
the  schools  early  emphasized  more  of  the  purely  practical, 
laying  more  stress  on  textbook  study.  And  in  a  few 
instances  examinations  were  introduced,  though  generally 
to  be  discontinued  later.  The  chief  Swedish  modifica- 
tion of  the  Danish  system  lies  in  the  addition  of  fully 
equipped  agricultural  departments  to  most  of  the  schools. 
In  this  respect,  at  least,  the  Swedish  policy  is  at  variance 
with  the  tenets  of  a  majority  of  Danish  high  school  men. 
Since  1882  —  when  the  Swedish  government  began  offer- 
ing liberal  support  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural 

1  Schroder,  "  Folkehojskolen  i  Sverige,"  p.  398. 


THEIR   TRANSPLANTATION  275 

schools  —  the  folk  high  schools  have  gone  through  a 
partial  reorganization.  Two  schools  are  now  usually 
found  on  the  same  campus,  under  one  administrative 
head,  although  the  schools  continue  to  have  separate 
principals  and  are  housed  in  their  own  buildings.  Their 
relation  is  much  the  same  as  is  that  of  the  several  schools 
in  an  American  university  —  each  with  its  own  dean 
subject  to  a  common  administrative  head.  The  schools 
at  Lyngby  and  a  few  other  places  in  Denmark  have  a 
similar  organization. 

Sweden  has  forty-four  government-recognized  folk 
high  schools,  with  eleven  hundred  men  and  ten  hundred 
and  eighty  women  students.  The  state  appropriation 
for  aid  to  the  schools  —  privately  owned  as  in  Denmark 
—  in  1912-1913,  was  339,200  kroner,  and  stipends  for 
needy  students,  80,000  kroner. 

Hvilan  Folkhogskolan  och  Lantmannaskolan.  —  It  is 
unnecessary  to  describe  in  detail  the  Swedish  schools. 
In  administration,  methods  of  instruction,  and  subject 
matter,  they  follow  closely  their  Danish  prototypes. 
The  one  marked  difference  has  been  noted  above:  the 
Swedes  prefer  to  bring  under  one  administration  all 
the  schools  which  in  Denmark  are  usually  kept  as  dis- 
tinct institutions.  In  all  probability,  any  adaptation 
that  might  be  made  of  these  schools  in  the  United 
States  would  likely  resemble  the  Swedish  plan  more  than 
the  Danish,  since  our  conditions  will  hardly  permit  of 


276  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

schools  depending  solely  on  the  inspirational  elements  to 
attract  a  student  body. 

Hvilan  Folk  High  School  and  Agricultural  School  may 
be  taken  as  typical  of  the  Swedish  schools.  The  four 
distinct  Danish  schools  —  folk  high  school,  agricultural 
school,  smallhold  school,  and  school  of  household  eco- 
nomics —  are  all  represented  at  Hvilan  by  very  good 
courses.  This  is  not  to  say  that  the  opportunities  offered 
here  are  just  as  good  in  every  respect  as  in  the  separate 
Danish  schools.  Such  a  condition  could  not  be  expected. 
But  the  fact  remains  that  very  satisfactory  work  is 
being  done,  and  that  is  the  only  consideration. 

The  courses  and  number  of  students  in  each  course 
for  the  year  1911-1912  were  as  follows: 

The  Folk  High  School  —  STUDENTS 

General  Course  for  Men  (November  i-April  13)       63 

Advanced  Course  for  Men  (November  i-April  13) 28 

General  Course  for  Women  (May  i-July  28) 34 

Advanced  Course  for  Women  (May  i-August  14) 19 

The  Agricultural  School  — 

General  Course  for  Men'(November  i-April  13)       48 

Two  Courses  for  Control  Assistants  (September-October  and 

May- June) 129 

Special  Course  for  Smallholders  (March  4-16) 29 

Course  for  Housemothers  and  their  Daughters  (July  1-6)     .     .  36 

386 

Origin  of  the  Norwegian  Folk  High  Schools.  —  In  Our 

Redeemer's  Churchyard  at  Christiania  stands  a  simple 
gravestone  bearing  an  inscription  that  may  be  translated 
thus : 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  277 

"  So  awaken  the  folk  one  morning  tide 
With  life  in  heart  and  light  in  mouth, 
And  sweetly  it  sings 
With  loosened  tongues 
What  life's  about." 

Beneath  the  stone  sleeps  Ole  Vig,  the  Norwegian  teacher 
and  writer  who  first  brought  Grundtvig's  spirit  to  Nor- 
way. With  him  came  a  great  awakening  to  his  people. 
Now  V.  A.  Wexel  roused  the  Church  to  a  greater  spiritu- 
ality; Ivar  Aasen  strove  to  purify  the  mother  tongue; 
P.  A.  Munch  and  others  wrote  in  fiery  words  the  history  of 
Norway ;  Asbjornsen  and  Moe  published  their  marvelous 
collections  of  folk  tales;  Lindemann  set  the  mountains 
a-echoing  with  his  folk-melodies;  and  Ole  Bull  played 
for  all  the  world.  This  was  in  the  decade  1850-1860. 
Like  Grundtvig,  Ole  Vig  was  only  the  prophet ;  others 
were  to  carry  to  execution  his  plan  for  a  system  of 
Norwegian  folk  high  schools. 

Two  young  university  students,  Herman  Anker  and 
Olaus  Arvesen,  were  won  for  the  high  school  cause  by 
Vig's  zeal.  They  both  went  to  Denmark  and  lived  the 
folk  school  life  for  a  season.  When  they  returned  home 
they  took  steps  to  open  a  school  jointly,  Anker,  who  was 
a  man  of  wealth,  to  furnish  the  means,  and  Arvesen  to 
devote  all  his  time  to  the  work. 

In  this  way  Sagatun  Folk  High  School,  beautifully 
situated  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Mjosen,  was  organized, 


278  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  opened  its  doors  to  the  public  in  October,  1864. 
Eighty  young  people  were  in  attendance  the  first  year 
and  the  folk  school  idea  took  root,  never  to  lose  its 
hold. 

In  1867,  the  great  schoolman,  Christoffer  Bruun, 
founded  the  renowned  Vanheim  Folk  High  School. 
This  was  followed  by  Seljord  and  nearly  a  score  of  others. 
But  these  schools  have  all  had  their  difficulties  to  meet. 
Some  own  their  own  buildings ;  others  have  been  obliged 
to  get  along  with  rented  quarters ;  and  a  few  are  really 
perambulating,  going  from  mountain  district  to  mountain 
district,  opening  their  doors  for  a  few  weeks  or  months 
at  a  time  at  some  large  farmstead.  Yet,  in  the  midst  of 
all  these  difficulties,  the  spirit  of  the  schools  has  not 
lagged,  the  song  has  continued  to  stir  their  souls  to 
noble  action. 

Two  serious  difficulties  have  hampered  the  work  of  the 
folk  schools  hi  Norway :  (i)  each  amt  or  local  adminis- 
tration unit  had  its  own  continuation  school  above  the 
free  elementary  school,  intended  to  give  the  country 
population  a  liberal  education.  But,  unfortunately,  as  it 
appears  from  an  investigation,  "  The  amt  schools  have 
proved  the  cause  of  drawing  many  farm  boys  away 
from  the  soil  and  into  other  callings,  instead  of  preparing 
them  to  live  the  country  life  as  enlightened  and  interested 
citizens,  with  a  keen  sense  for  the  life  and  customs  of 
their  forefathers."  The  amt  schools  were  inclined  to 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  279 

be  aristocratic  and  narrowly  scholastic,  becoming  really 
nothing  more  than  preparatory  schools  for  the  higher 
learned  institutions.  Naturally  these  schools  were  not 
inclined  to  share  the  field  with  the  privately  owned  folk 
high  schools.  (2)  The  folk  high  schools  at  first  had  to 
depend  solely  on  private  open-handedness  for  mainte- 
nance, as  the  state  was  disinclined  to  lend  aid. 

More  recently  these  difficulties  have  been  surmounted. 
The  folk  spirit  has,  down  through  the  years,  permeated 
the  whole  people,  reaching  even  the  official  classes. 
State  aid  has  been  extended  to  all  worthy  folk  high  schools. 
The  amt  schools,  too,  have  become  somewhat  modified 
in  their  organization,  making  it  possible  for  the  schools 
to  work  in  greater  harmony  than  in  the  past. 

Norway  is  a  great  mountain  ridge  cut  by  deep  ocean 
fjords  into  innumerable  mountain  districts,  each 
with  its  own  manners  and  customs,  and  even  dialect. 
The  folk  high  schools  have  invaded  these  fastnesses 
and  rallied  the  mountain  folk  around  them.  The  great 
nationalizing  movement  in  Norway  of  recent  years 
which  has  culminated  in  the  adoption  of  a  purified  na- 
tional tongue,  a  national  music,  a  revival  of  national 
dress,  folk  dances,  and  the  like,  can  be  traced  in  large 
measure  to  the  subtile  influence  of  the  folk  high  schools. 

The  Folk  High  Schools  in  Finland.  —  Here  Elias 
Lonnrot,  well  known  for  his  compilation  of  Finnish  folk 
songs,  the  Kalevala ;  Johan  Ludvig  Runeberg,  the  poet ; 


280  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

and  Uno  Cygnaeus,  the  father  of  the  sloyd  system  — 
all  had  something  to  do  with  preparing  the  people  for 
the  coming  of  the  folk  high  schools. 

The  first  school  was  organized  by  a  woman,  Sofia 
Hagman,  at  Kongasala  near  Tammerfors,  in  1889. 
She  rallied  around  her  the  young  women  of  the  com- 
munity, giving  them  from  eighteen  to  twenty  hours  of 
instruction  weekly.  Handwork  for  women  was  the 
most  important  part  of  her  course.  Besides  this,  there 
were  classes  in  religious  study,  accounting,  drawing, 
song,  and  gymnastics,  and  lectures  on  the  history  of  the 
world,  church  history,  geography,  and  so  on. 

This  school  was  soon  followed  by  Borga  Folk  High 
School,  which  was  largely  inspired  by  the  poet  Runeberg. 
The  first  folk  school  in  Finland  to  use  the  Swedish  tongue 
was  opened  at  Kronoby  in  East  Bothnia,  in  1891.  This 
resembles  in  almost  every  respect  the  Danish  and  Swedish 
schools. 

In  1905,  Finland  could  boast  twenty- three  folk  high 
schools,  of  which  seven  used  the  Swedish  language. 
Now  they  have  grown  in  number  to  forty- two,  of  which 
fifteen  are  Swedish-speaking.  Prior  to  1905,  the  Finnish 
government  was  very  conservative  hi  its  support  of  the 
schools.  Then,  by  degrees,  the  government's  policy 
changed.  At  this  time  it  encourages  the  schools  to  the 
best  work  through  liberal  state  aid.  This  now  amounts 
to  more  than  30x5,000  marks  annually. 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  281 

The  Folk  High  Schools  on  English  Soil.  —  One  day 
back  in  1905,  a  party  of  English  educators  and  other 
gentlemen  on  a  tour  of  inspection  in  Denmark  were 
spending  the  week-end  as  the  guests  of  Principal  Poul 
Hansen  at  Vallekilde  Folk  High  School.  While  here, 
they  listened  to  an  instructive  address,  among  other 
things,  on  the  purpose  of  the  folk  high  school  by  Pro- 
fessor Valdemar  Bennike.  One  of  the  English  party  was 
J.  S.  Thornton,  who  has  written  much  on  the  Danish 
school  system  for  the  press  and  educational  periodicals. 
He  describes  the  scene  of  the  address  in  the  following 
language :  "As  he  (Bennike)  spoke  he  stood  in  front  of 
the  Ansgar  picture  (it  was  Ansgar  who  first  brought 
Christianity  to  Denmark),  thus  emphasizing  all  he  had 
to  say  by  showing  that  the  teaching  of  himself  and  his 
colleagues,  whilst  looking  eagerly  forward  to  the  future, 
was  nevertheless  rooted  in  the  past  and  based  on  a 
Christian  foundation.  .  .  . 

"  '  The  main  object  of  this  school/  said  Bennike, 
1  is  not  to  impart  to  our  students  a  mass  of  useful  in- 
formation —  that  is  only  a  secondary  aim.  The  princi- 
pal aim  is  to  impart  to  them  a  spiritual  view  of  life,  so 
that  they  may  see  there  is  some  sense  in  their  existence.1 
The  last  words  were  scarcely  from  the  speaker's  mouth, 
when  I  heard  an  involuntary  chuckle  from  the  neighbor 
at  my  right,  telling  me  that  the  phrase  had  gone  home. 
The  seed  had  fallen  hi  to  good  ground ;  for,  some  three 


282  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

years  after,  the  gentleman  in  question  —  Mr.  Tom 
Bryan  —  had  become  the  head  of  the  First  People's 
High  School  in  England  that  could  fairly  be  said  to 
resemble  the  Danish  original."  1 

The  school  here  referred  to  is  Fircroft,  at  Bournville 
near  Birmingham.  It  would  be  unfair  to  say  that  it  is, 
root  and  branch,  a  transplantation  from  the  Danish 
mother  tree.  To  say  that  it  is  a  Danish  graft  on  an 
English  stock  comes  much  nearer  being  the  truth. 
For  it  is  really  a  continuation  of  the  so-called  Quaker 
Adult  School  which  used  to  meet  at  Bournville  Sunday 
morning  for  a  serious  study  of  the  history  and  literature 
of  the  Bible.  With  such  preparation  it  was  not  difficult 
for  the  folk  high  school  to  strike  root. 

A  little  booklet  issued  by  the  school  has  this  to  say 
about  the  genesis  of  the  school :  "  The  founding  of  Fir- 
croft  College  in  January,  1909,  was  the  outcome  of 
serious  thought  on  the  part  of  a  few  people  keenly 
interested  in  the  education  of  working  men. 

"  A  study  of  existing  educational  facilities  impressed 
them  with  the  disabilities  under  which  the  workers 
labored,  and  the  strong  necessity  of  attempting  to 
lessen  these  disabilities  if,  in  case  of  the  workers,  educa- 
tion was  to  yield  its  best  results. 

"  It  was  felt  among  other  things  that  the  invaluable 
work  of  the  Adult  Schools,  the  Workers'  Educational 

1  Thornton,  "Fircroft,  the  First  People's  High  School  in  England," 
p.  i. 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  283 

Association  and  kindred  institutions  needed  supple- 
menting in  a  particular  way;  that  larger  opportunities 
of  systematic  study  should  be  brought  within  the  reach 
of  those  pursuing  it ;  and  that,  beyond  all,  there  should 
be  added  to  systematic  study  a  common  life  and  fellow- 
ship through  which  might  be  nurtured  a  clearer  discern- 
ment of  the  things  of  abiding  value. 

"  The  desirable  thing,  indeed,  was  a  modest  Working 
Men's  College,  which  should  be  adaptable  to  varying 
standards  of  educational  attainment  on  the  part  of  its 
members,  but  the  chief  end  of  which  should  be  to  mold 
and  fashion  men,  and  teach  them  the  greatest  theme 
of  all  —  the  Art  of  Right  Living. 

"  Education,  it  was  felt,  was  not  an  exhaustive  pursuit 
of  facts  nor  a  desultory  acquaintance  with  them,  but 
a  broadening  of  the  whole  life,  and  the  success  of  Fircrof t 
would  be  measured  by  the  extent  of  its  achievement  in 
this  direction." 

Fircroft  has,  for  the  past  four  years,  worked  along 
these  lines  with  the  greatest  success.  Laborers,  clerks, 
teachers,  gardeners,  farmers,  colliers,  mechanics,  and  shop 
assistants  from  various  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom 
have  spent  some  time  at  Fircroft  "  who  are  witnesses  to 
the  broader  outlook  made  possible  by  their  stay." 

The  school  is  situated  near  the  Village  Green  at 
Bournville,  and  is  set  in  three  acres  of  beautiful  old 
garden.  The  accommodations  are  limited  to  a  family 


284 


RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 


of  twenty  only.  The  school  is  equipped  with  library, 
lecture  hall,  common  room,  gymnasium,  dressing  rooms 
with  shower  baths,  and  a  workshop.  The  garden  is  in- 
teresting. It  offers  opportunity  for  practical  gardening  in 
charge  of  an  expert  gardener ;  for  open  air  study,  —  of 
which  there  is  much  at  Fircroft,  —  and  for  recreation. 

Methods  of  instruction  and  subject  matter  are  much 
like  what  is  offered  in  the  Danish  schools.  The  sub- 
jects include  Bible  study,  political  and  social  history, 
economics,  industrial  history,  English  literature,  natural 
science,  local  government,  and  social  questions  of  the 
day.  An  interesting  feature  is  the  Monday  Evening 
Lecture  Course  on  social  questions  of  the  day  by  eminent 
specialists.  Another  recent  innovation  is  a  correspond- 
ence course  which  can  reach  many  who  find  it  impossible 
to  be  in  residence. 

The  daily  program  follows : 

AUTUMN  TERM,  SEPT.  24-DEC.  17,  1913 


TIME 

9.45-10.15 

11-11.50 

12-12.50  P.M. 

8-9  P.M. 

Monday 

Lecture 

Logic 
Grammar 

Gardening 

2-4  P.M. 
Nature  Study 
Ramble 

Special  Lec- 
ture as  an- 
nounced 

Tuesday 

English 
Language 

The  Growth  of 
Human  Society 

Essay  and  crit- 
icism class 

3.30-4.30  P.M. 
Gymnasium 

Wednesday 

Elementary 
Economics 

Nature 
Study 

Shakespeare 

Reading 

English 
History 

Thursday 

Elementary 
Biology 

Bible 
Study 

Essay  and  Crit- 
icism Class 

Gymnasium 

Commercial 
Geography 

Friday 

History  of  Eng- 
lish Literature 

The  History 
of  Landscape 

Gardening 

Gardening 

Cosy  Hour 

Saturday 

Industrial 
History 

Reading 
Class 

Arithmetic 

Bible  Study 

THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  285 

It  is  interesting  to  have  the  opinion  of  the  English 
press  and  the  verdict  of  the  resident  students  at  Fir- 
croft  on  the  value  of  such  an  institution.  We  may  first 
quote  from  the  report  of  a  special  representative  of  a 
prominent  London  paper,1  who  made  a  careful  study  of 
the  school.  He  says  in  part : 

"  I  found  the  authentic  stamp  of  the  Hojskole  on 
Fircrof t.  Here  are  workers  —  there  a  clerk,  a  mechanic 
or  shop  assistant,  there  a  gardener,  a  labourer,  or  a 
miner  —  withdrawn,  for  a  time  only,  from  the  daily 
round,  to  learn  what  they  may  make,  if  they  will,  not 
only  of  their  minds  and  souls,  but  of  their  bodies  —  for 
physical  exercises,  the  only  compulsory  thing  at  the  rural 
high  schools  in  Denmark,  are  given  a  prominent  place 
at  Fircrof  t.  The  three  dozen  men  —  in  their  early 
twenties,  chiefly  —  cultivate  the  humanities  in  an  old 
house  sequestered  in  three  acres  of  garden,  and  their 
way  of  life  is  simple  and  frugal.  As  to  study,  there  is 
freedom  of  choice  that  characterizes  the  Hojskole  sys- 
tem. There  is  also  the  same  intention  not  to  make  of 
education  a  thing  pumped  into  people.  From  the 
activities  and  opportunities  of  Fircroft  there  results,  it 
is  found,  not  an  exhausting  pursuit  of  facts  nor  a  des- 
ultory acquaintance  with  them  but  a  broadening  of  the 
whole  life.  It  is  certain  that  many  who  have  been 
introduced  for  the  first  time  at  Fircroft  to  a  wider  world 
1  Daily  Morning  Leader,  October  26,  1911. 


286  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

of  thought  and  knowledge  are  now,  when  back  at  their 
occupations,  keener-eyed  and  better  able  to  play  a 
serviceable  part  in  the  world.  '  The  students,'  says  the 
Warden,  are  '  drawn  into  a  new  atmosphere  of  study  and 
reflection,  affecting  the  whole  of  their  subsequent  life.' 

"  The  report  of  the  inspectors  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion pays  a  tribute  to  the  high  quality  of  instruction 
given.  But  the  individual  attention  which  the  students 
receive  is  even  more  important  than  the  class  instruc- 
tion. The  Warden,  speaking  on  the  subject  of  cultivat- 
ing a  taste  for  literature,  says  illummatingly :  '  A  book 
must  be  found  for  each  man  which  will  make  the  direct- 
est  appeal  to  his  imagination.  In  the  case  of  a  man 
who  has  had  a  religious  training,  the  thing  that  appeals 
to  him  most  readily  is  poetry,  like  Lowell's  Vision  of 
Sir  Launfal.  The  influence  of  this  upon  the  mind  of  a 
young  farmer  was  magnetic.  In  the  case  of  a  farm 
laborer,  book  after  book  was  suggested,  apparently 
without  any  effect;  the  awakening  came  in  reading 
Adam  Bede.  In  the  case  of  a  mechanic,  Kingsley  struck 
the  note  which  found  a  response.' ' 

At  the  annual  reunion  of  old  Fircrofters  held  May 
25,  1912,  six  of  the  one-time  students,  Alf  Stephens, 
Cecil  Leeson,  Bob  Pounder,  Syd  Davis,  Tom  Handforth, 
and  Frank  Ferguson,  gave  five-minute  speeches  on 
"  The  Value  of  Fircroft :  My  Personal  Experience," 
which  bring  out  some  very  illuminating  phases  of  this 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  287 

and  similar  schools.  These  statements  are  contained 
in  the  July  issue  of  "  The  Old  Fircrofter,"  the  student's 
periodical : 

"  Frank  Ferguson  said  there  were  many  ways  in 
which  Fircroft  had  benefited  him.  He  came,  having 
read  a  little  and  thought  a  little ;  but  Fircroft  filled  in 
the  gaps.  He  had  previously  had  a  fair  grounding  in 
Industrial  History,  but  at  Fircroft  he  got  many  details 
he  couldn't  have  got  elsewhere.  Then  again  at  Fircroft, 
he  had  his  mind  ministered  to  on  more  than  one  side; 
he  had  heard  something  of  literature,  and  Bible  matters, 
and  science ;  and  as  a  result  he  was  now  better  equipped 
for  serving  the  community.  But  that  wasn't  all.  Fir- 
croft also  gave  him  food  for  his  soul.  It  did  something 
to  temper  his  disposition ;  it  gave  him  new  points  of 
view;  and,  mixing  with  other  fellows,  he  was  educated 
in  human  nature  as  well  as  in  books.  It  was  one  of  the 
great  pleasures  of  his  life  to  look  back  on  the  two  terms 
he  spent  at  Fircroft. 

"  Bob  Pounder  said  that  at  Fircroft  he  got  hold  of 
the  idea  that  the  wealth  of  the  nation  did  not  depend 
on  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  but  on  healthy,  well 
educated  individuals.  He  found  that  religion  did  not 
consist  of  facts  and  creeds,  but  of  feeling  and  thought, 
and  action.  But  there  was  something  that  one  couldn't 
understand  unless  one  spent  a  term  at  Fircroft.  One 
got  bound  up  with  a  lot  of  fellows. 


288  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

"  Tom  Handforth  said  that  before  he  came  to  Fir- 
croft  he  was  a  rebel ;  he  was  a  rebel  still,  but  a  different 
kind  of  rebel.  From  his  early  days  he  had  thought 
it  was  wrong  for  so  few  people  to  have  so  much,  while 
so  many  had  so  little.  He  even  joined  a  socialist  party, 
but  he  hadn't  the  faintest  idea  what  socialism  was, 
or  which  way  he  was  going.  At  Fircroft  he  found  the 
very  thing  he  wanted.  He  learned  something  of  the 
past  history  of  the  nation  and  of  other  nations,  and 
got  some  inkling  of  the  way  it  would  have  to  develop. 
He  thought  he  was  now  a  wee  bit  more  of  a  dangerous 
rebel,  for  he  knew  where  he  was  going.  Fircroft  showed 
him  there  was  a  purpose  in  life  and  it  was  each  man's 
duty  to  carry  the  work  forward. 

"  Alf  Stephens  thought  Fircroft  had  taught  him 
some  valuable  truths.  He  had  got  the  idea  of  respon- 
sibility, whether  in  connection  with  politics,  religion, 
or  education.  He  had  come  to  desire  the  genuine  in 
everything,  and  to  do  away  with  shams.  He  had 
learned  the  oneness  of  things,  and  that  shed  a  great 
light  on  the  difficulties  of  to-day.  In  study,  Fircroft 
put  him  on  the  track  of  things.  His  stay  at  Fircroft 
was  the  awakening  of  his  mind. 

"  Answering  a  series  of  questions  which  had  been 
suggested  by  Professor  Muirhead,  Cecil  Leeson  said: 

"  (i)  That  he  did  not  think  that  any  but  an  infini- 
tesimal proportion  of  Fircroft  applicants  were  led  to  seek 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  289 

admission  simply  in  order  to  attain  positions  conven- 
tionally regarded  as  higher  than  those  held  by  working 
men,  in  connection  with  Trade  Unions,  etc.,  it  seemed 
to  him  that  where  there  was  found  in  a  crofter  any 
talent  worth  cultivating,  one  could  not  afford  to  waste 
it. 

"  (2)  In  answer  to  the  question  whether  the  Fircroft 
training  had  been  of  material  advantage  in  his  own 
case,  he  said  that  since  his  residence  his  wages  had 
increased  about  one  third  and  his  worries  about  one 
hundredfold.  Fircroft  was,  quite  at  liberty  to  take 
credit  for  the  one,  provided  it  shouldered  responsibility 
for  the  other. 

"  (3)  He  did  not  want  to  see  any  definite  preparation 
for  residence  at  Fircroft  except  that  which  should  develop 
an  interested  state  of  mind. 

"  (4)  Asked  what  he  would  have  done  differently  if  he 
had  his  time  at  Fircroft  over  again,  he  said,  first,  that 
he  now  realized  that,  in  the  lecture,  the  student  should 
work  at  least  as  hard  as  the  lecturer;  and  secondly, 
that  he  would  try  to  be  courageous  enough  to  do  without 
a  notebook  at  lectures. 

"  (5)  He  did  not  think  that  attendance  at  University 
classes  by  Fircroft  students  was  advisable.  Fircroft 
was  too  small  to  be  divided,  and  if  it  was  to  keep  its 
distinctive  atmosphere  it  could  not  afford  to  find  room 
for  external  students. 


20,0  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

"(6)  Answering  the  question,  What  do  you  value 
most  as  the  result  of  your  residence  at  Fircroft?  he 
emphasized  three  points.  First,  he  had  learned  the 
value  of  books  in  giving  information ;  secondly,  he  had 
learned  the  greater  value  of  books  in  giving  rise,  in 
the  reader,  to  thoughts  which  in  a  very  real  way  were 
original ;  and  thirdly,  he  had  attained  self-reliance. 

"  In  answer  to  the  same  series  of  questions,  Syd 
Davis  agreed  in  most  points  with  Cecil  Leeson.  But 
he  thought  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  a 
prospective  Fircrofter  to  have  had  a  preliminary  train- 
ing in  the  rudiments  of  English  grammar  and  to  have 
taken  a  course  in  the  correspondence  classes." 

England  has  made  a  beginning.  But  "  whether  such 
a  school  can  become  as  widely  popular  here  as  it  is  in 
Denmark,"  Professor  Thornton  says,  "  remains  to  be 
seen."  "  If  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire,"  he  continues, 
"  had  fifty  such  schools  dotted  about  their  country 
spots,  and  other  counties  had  them  in  the  same  pro- 
portion, we  should  still  have  fewer  for  our  population 
than  they  have  in  Denmark.  But  they  would  be 
enough  to  uplift  not  a  man  here  and  there,  as  already 
happens,  but  to  leaven  the  whole  lump.  For  Eng- 
lishmen are  of  the  same  race  as  Danes,  Norsemen,  and 
Swedes ;  and  what  has  happened  on  the  east  of  the 
North  Sea  may  just  as  well  happen  on  the  west.  There 
is  no  Sunday  school,  no  council  school,  no  town  or 


THEIR  TRANSPLANTATION  29 1 

parish  council,  no  cooperative  undertaking,  no  religious 
community  that  would  not  have  received  an  upward 
impulse.  The  effect  would  be  seen  in  all  our  industrial, 
political,  and  religious  life."  l 

1  Fircroft,  "The  First  People's  High  School  in  England,"  p.  4. 


CHAPTER  XVH 

DANISH-AMERICAN  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

Early  History  of  the  Transplantation.  —  Danish  im- 
migration to  the  United  States  was  of  little  consequence 
numerically  before  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The 
period  1865-1870  marks  the  beginning  of  a  rising  tide. 
Ten  thousand  Danes  landed  in  the  United  States  during 
the  five  years.  Nearly  36,000  came  during  1870-1880, 
and  this  number  increased  to  76,000  the  next  decade. 
But  by  this  time  agricultural  conditions  had  become  very 
much  improved  hi  the  Danish  Islands,  and  the  emi- 
grants came  in  decreasing  numbers,  until  now  the  an- 
nual influx  is  considerably  less  than  it  was  in  the  early 
seventies. 

But  many  of  these  newcomers,  scattering  over  the 
country  and  particularly  over  the  Middle  West,  were 
old  folk  high  school  students  who  found  it  hard  to 
forget  the  teachings  of  their  early  school  days.  They 
instinctively  sought  the  open  country,  and  made  their 
pioneer  settlements  from  Michigan  and  Iowa  westward 
to  the  Pacific.  Every  settlement  had  its  church  and 

293 


DANISH- AMERICAN  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  2  93 

its  resident  pastor,  who  was  also  generally  a  high  school 
man.  The  pastors  have  generally  taken  the  lead  in 
organizing  the  schools  within  the  settlements,  also. 

In  November,  1874,  Rev.  Olav  Kirkeberg,  a  Nor- 
wegian in  the  service  of  the  Danish-American  Church, 
and  resident  pastor  at  Elkhorn,  Iowa,  an  inland  settle- 
ment many  miles  from  railroad,  opened  the  first 
Danish- American  folk  high  school  in  the  United  States. 
Kirkeberg  was  a  student  of  the  great  Norwegian  folk 
schoolman,  Christoffer  Brunn,  and  his  assistant  at 
Elkhorn  was  Kristian  Ostergaard,  an  old  Askov  student. 

Another  school  was  founded  at  Ashland,  Michigan, 
in  1882,  by  the  Ryslinge  student,  Rev.  H.  J.  Pedersen. 
Unfortunately,  this  school  lay  too  far  eastward  to  at- 
tract Danish- Americans  in  sufficient  numbers  to  pay 
expenses.  Several  able  schoolmen,  including  Professor 
Christian  Bay,  a  well-known  writer  on  the  folk  high 
schools  in  English,  have  tried  to  reorganize  the  school. 
At  the  time  of  writing  it  is  being  reopened  by  a  group 
of  friends  of  the  cause,  who  have  great  faith  in  its  ulti- 
mate success. 

Another  school  which  later  suspended  activity  was 
opened  at  West  Denmark,  Wisconsin,  in  1884,  by  Rev. 
K.  L.  Norgaard,  also  an  Askov  student.  Schools  were 
further  established  at  Blair,  Nebraska  (Dana  College) 
and  Des  Moines,  Iowa  (Grand  View  College)  which 
still  retain  considerable  of  the  folk  high  school  spirit, 


294  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

method,  and  subject  matter;  but  whose  chief  work 
is  now  to  prepare  pastors  for  the  two  branches  of  the 
Danish  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  to  which 
they  belong.  These  may,  therefore,  be  passed  by  in 
the  present  discussion. 

This  leaves  just  three  typical  Danish-American 
folk  high  schools  for  our  consideration :  Elk  Horn 
Folk  High  School,  Elk  Horn,  Iowa ;  Nysted  Folk  High 
School,  Nysted,  Nebraska;  and  Danebod  Folk  High 
School,  Tyler,  Minnesota. 

Elk  Horn  Folk  High  School.  —  This  and  all  the  other 
schools  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States  have  been  founded 
either  immediately  by  some  body  within  the  Danish 
Lutheran  Church  or  by  an  association  of  members 
belonging  to  the  Church.  The  Elk  Horn  school  was 
at  first  the  property  of  the  congregation.  The  campus 
comprised  three  acres,  upon  which  was  erected  an 
unpretentious  main  building  costing  about  $3000. 
This  has  twice  been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  each  time 
rebuilt  larger  and  better.  There  is  also  a  dormitory 
for  young  women,  a  gymnasium,  and  a  home  for  the 
principal. 

The  school,  when  it  was  first  opened,  lay  far  out  on 
the  Iowa  rolling  prairies,  and  the  settlers  were  pretty 
scattered.  But  the  Danish  farmers  of  Shelby  and 
Audubon  counties  supported  it  loyally,  giving  freely 
of  their  small  means  and  doing  such  work  with  their 


DANISH- AMERICAN  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  295 

own  hands  and  teams  as  might  be  required  of  them. 
All  coal  and  building  materials,  for  example,  had  to  be 
hauled  over  hilly  roads  from  railway  stations  twelve 
to  twenty  miles  away.  All  this  work  was  cheerfully 
donated  by  the  settlers.  Even  the  students,  who  in 
Elk  Horn's  most  palmy  days  used  to  come  from  twenty 
or  more  states,  had  to  be  transported  laboriously  by 
wagon.  "  These  experiences,"  says  A.  P.  Juhl,  the 
present  principal  of  the  school,  "  were  not  of  the  most 
pleasant  when  the  students  in  order  to  ease  the  load  for 
the  horses  were  obliged  to  get  out  and  trudge  through 
the  mud  up  the  hills,  to  say  nothing  of  the  bitter  winds 
they  often  were  obliged  to  face."  Nothing  short  of  the 
folk  high  school  spirit  could  have  suffered  such  hard- 
ships without  complaint. 

The  work  at  Elk  Horn  in  the  early  day  was  in  every 
respect  similar  to  the  work  of  the  Danish  schools.  Many 
lectures  and  very  little  textbook  work  was  the  plan.  The 
lectures  —  especially  from  1 1  to  12  noon  and  7  to  8  at 
night — were  well  attended  by  the  farmers  of  the  vicinity, 
who  would  drive  miles  to  be  present. 

Rev.  Kirkeberg  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  J.  Pedersen, 
who  later  founded  the  Ashland  school.  In  1882,  he 
was  in  turn  superseded  by  Rev.  Kristian  Anker,  a 
distant  relative  of  the  great  schoolman,  Herman  Anker 
of  "  Saga  tun,"  Norway.  Under  Anker's  administra- 
tion, from  1882-1897, the  school  did  its  best  work.  Stu- 


296  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

dents  came  annually  from  nearly  half  the  states  in  the 
Union,  reaching  close  up  towards  the  two  hundred 
mark.  Anker  owned  the  school  privately,  and  under 
this  management  it  naturally  prospered  the  best.  Then 
came  church  differences  and  other  disagreements.  The 
school  was  sold  to  one  of  two  discordant  church  bodies, 
and  after  that  time  has  not  been  so  prosperous. 

Down  through  the  years  considerable  classwork  has 
been  added  in  academic  subjects.  The  lectures  have 
been  reduced  hi  numbers  in  the  same  proportion.  The 
school  has  done  some  work  in  preparing  teachers  for  the 
rural  schools  and  even  for  commercial  activities.  But, 
unfortunately,  it  has  not  seen  its  way  clear  to  be  of  any 
material  assistance  in  tying  the  agriculturist  to  the  soil 
in  the  way  the  modified  Danish  schools  do  in  the  mother 
country. 

Nysted  Folk  High  School. —  This  interesting  little 
school  was  founded  in  the  fall  of  1887,  by  Rev.  C.  J. 
Skovgaard,  who  also  belonged  to  the  large  group  of  Askov 
students  doing  pioneering  work  in  the  Middle  West. 
The  school  is  located  near  the  small  village  of  Nysted 
in  Howard  County,  Nebraska.  The  school  was  opened 
in  an  empty  store  building  with  a  leaky  roof.  The 
first  year  was  marked  by  many  hardships;  but  when, 
on  occasion,  it  got  too  cold  in  the  house,  "  the  students 
would  go  through  their  gymnastic  exercises  and  later 
forget  their  troubles  in  song  and  interesting  lectures." 


DANISH-AMERICAN   FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  297 

The  second  year  a  school  was  opened  with  a  capacity 
for  twenty-four  students ;  but  the  founder  had  difficul- 
ties in  making  ends  meet  financially,  as  he  was  obliged  to 
pay  24  per  cent  interest  on  a  small  loan  for  the  building ! 

A  corporation  was  established  and  given  the  name 
"  Nysted  Hojskolesamfund,"  which  purchased  and  now 
supports  the  school.  This  body  consists  of  about  three 
hundred  stockholders,  and  is  independent  of  any  church 
organization.  A  suitable  building  with  dormitory  ca- 
pacity for  fifty  students  was  soon  after  erected  on  an  at- 
tractive campus  of  ten  acres. 

"  The  school,"  says  Principal  Aage  Moller,  "  has 
replaced  the  undesirable  dancing  and  drinking  of  former 
days  with  a  serious  spiritual  life.  The  whole  country- 
side, including  teachers  and  students,  form  a  harmonious 
brotherhood  of  kindred  interests." 

"  Our  school,"  continues  Mr.  Moller,  "  is  reared 
on  exactly  the  same  principles  as  are  the  folk  high  schools 
in  Denmark.  But,  the  United  States  is  now  our  country. 
This  must  be  kept  well  in  mind.  We  are  planting  the 
school  in  American  soil,  and  we  feel  that  success  shall 
in  the  end  be  ours." 

Eighty  to  ninety  students  are  enrolled  in  the  course 
of  a  year ;  young  men  during  the  months  December  to 
March,  and  young  women  during  April  to  July.  An  in- 
teresting short  course  of  eight  days  is  given  in  March  for 
old  and  young  people.  The  work  is  highly  inspirational. 


298  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

It  includes  lectures  on  Church  History,  Bible  study, 
social  and  economic  problems,  debates  and  song. 

Danebod  Folk  High  School.  —  There  is  a  large  degree 
of  similarity  in  the  history  of  the  Danish- American 
folk  high  schools.  They  all  began  as  pioneer  institu- 
tions in  new  prairie  settlements,  and  have  all  seen  hard 
times,  always  hampered  in  their  possibilities  by  lack  of 
funds.  They  have,  every  one,  had  among  their  leaders 
and  teachers  many  who  were  ready  to  suffer  surprising 
hardships  for  the  sake  of  the  cause  of  education.  Per- 
haps none  of  the  schools  has  had  a  more  varied  career 
than  Danebod,  near  Tyler,  Minnesota,  and  yet  sur- 
vived, with  a  fair  promise  of  greater  usefulness  in  the 
years  to  come. 

Danebod  was  organized  in  1888  by  Rev.  H.  J.  Peder- 
sen,  who  has  been  mentioned  above  in  connection  with 
other  schools.  A  heroic  struggle  now  began,  which 
has  been  continued  for  a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century.  In  the  early  years,  the  settlers  were  desper- 
ately poor  and  could  do  but  little.  After  the  school 
had  been  in  operation  for  a  few  months,  teachers  and 
students  began  to  feel  the  need  of  an  assembly  hall  and 
gymnasium.  Lumber  was  expensive,  but  great  bowlders 
—  glacial  drift  —  were  abundant.  Many  hundred  loads 
of  these  were  dragged  together,  and  slowly  hewn  into 
shape  for  the  "  Stone  House."  This  little  structure  was 
used  for  several  years  as  church,  auditorium,  and  gym- 


DANISH-AMERICAN  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  299 

nasium.  "  It  was  not  attractive,"  says  an  old  stu- 
dent, "  but  it  was  here  that  many  of  us  first  learned  to 
know  ourselves,  and  that  to  us  sheds  an  everlasting  halo 
around  it." 

Danebod  gradually  grew  from  its  humble  beginnings. 
A  church  was  built,  the  original  school  building  was 
greatly  enlarged,  then  a  gymnasium  and,  finally,  a 
small  hospital,  were  added.  By  1912,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  Rev.  Thorvald  Knudsen,  the  attend- 
ance had  reached  the  one  hundred  mark.  The  new 
principal,  Rev.  Halvdan  Helweg,  has  just  celebrated 
the  quarter-centennial  of  Danebod  amidst  promises  of  a 
most  prosperous  future. 

Hindrances  to  Satisfactory  Growth  of  the  Danish- 
American  Schools.  —  It  is  undeniable  that  the  Danish- 
American  folk  high  schools  have  not  succeeded  as  well 
as  their  friends  had  hoped ;  and,  yet,  if  they  should  all 
close  their  work  for  good  right  now,  no  one  who  under- 
stands the  work  they  have  done  would  have  the  temerity 
to  say  that  their  existence  has  been  in  vain,  or  that  the 
results  from  their  labor  have  not  been  worth  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  heroic  souls  who  gave  both  their  time  and 
their  means  to  the  cause.  The  schools  have  done  a 
work  of  inestimable  value  among  Danish- Americans, 
and  one  can  only  wish  that  the  future  may  shape  itself 
in  such  a  way  that  the  work  of  the  schools  for  the  coming 
years  may  be  greatly  enlarged. 


300  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

It  is  in  place  here  to  point  out  the  main  reasons  why 
the  schools  have  succeeded  no  better  than  they  have; 
so  that  this  be  not  taken  as  valid  reason  why  other 
schools  of  the  folk  high  school  type  in  the  United  States 
should  not  be  able  to  prosper. 

Perhaps  no  one  difficulty  that  Danish-American  lead- 
ers have  suffered  under  is  greater  and  more  insuperable 
than  the  scattered  condition  of  the  people  from  whom 
students  must  be  drawn.  There  is  scarcely  half  a 
million  Danes  in  the  United  States,  counting  the  first 
native-born  generation.  And  these  are  scattered  from 
ocean  to  ocean.  Even  under  these  conditions  the  folk 
high  school  spirit  has  been  strong  enough  to  draw  stu- 
dents for  many  hundred  miles,  so  that  even  the  humblest 
school  can  boast  students  from  half  a  dozen  states. 
At  Elk  Horn,  fifty  students  of  the  winter  session,  1896- 
1897,  as  an  experiment,  averaged  up  their  traveling 
expenses  —  going  to  and  from  the  school,  and  their 
expenses  at  the  school  —  and  found  that  it  had  cost 
15  per  cent  more  to  reach  the  school  than  to  spend  the 
term  there  !  This  seems  cause  enough  to  force  the 
closing  of  almost  any  ordinary  kind  of  school. 

Again,  there  has  been  a  lack  of  financial  backing. 
The  men  who  led  in  the  work  have  themselves  been 
poor  men.  It  will  be  recalled  that  the  Danish  schools 
could  scarcely  make  any  headway  before  the  state  came 
to  thek  aid  with  subsidies.  The  growth  of  the  schools 


DANISH-AMERICAN   FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS  301 

has  been  crippled  in  Norway  for  the  same  reason.  It 
is  quite  certain  that  had  substantial  aid  been  extended 
to  these  schools  in  the  United  States,  they  might  have 
succeeded  quite  as  well  as  they  have  done  in  Denmark. 
It  would  seem  that  here  is  an  opportunity  for  educational 
philanthropists  or  foundations  to  extend  aid  to  a  worthy 
and  important  cause. 

It  would  be  hard  to  deny,  too,  that  some  of  the  high 
school  leaders,  who  have  had  all  their  training  from  Den- 
mark, found  it  difficult  to  readjust  themselves  to  the 
new  conditions.  The  tendency  is  that,  in  spite  of  their  nat- 
ural broadmindedness  and  contrary  to  Grundtvig's  philos- 
ophy, which  is  all-embracing,  they  would  expend  too  much 
energy  in  reproducing  Danish  conditions  and  life,  thereby 
hindering  a  natural  transition  from  Danish  to  American. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  but  fair  to  state  that  the  schools 
have  served  as  a  check  upon  the  over-hasty  immigrant, 
making  of  him  a  saner,  truer  Danish-American  for  being 
first  well-grounded  in  the  best  that  the  schools  have 
had  to  offer. 

A  last  cause  for  indifferent  success  is,  no  doubt, 
that  the  schools  have  been  unable  to  adapt  their  activ- 
ities, hi  any  large  measure,  to  American  conditions,  and 
this  may  be  explained  again  in  lack  of  funds.  If,  for 
example,  the  three  Danish-American  folk  high  schools 
that  are  now  active  should  reorganize  their  school 
plants  on  such  a  basis  as  to  combine  the  pure  folk  cul- 


$02  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

ture  with  the  practical  courses  offered,  say,  at  Haslev 
or  Vallekilde,  and  more  particularly  with  the  long  and 
short  courses  of  such  schools  as  Kaerehave  or  Fyn  Stift's 
School  at  Odense,  they  would  unquestionably  be  enabled 
to  accomplish  a  much  more  vital  work  for  Danish- 
Americans  than  they  are  now  doing.  In  other  words, 
it  would  seem  that  it  should  be  possible  to  combine  in 
the  Danish-American  folk  high  schools  of  the  future 
Grundtvig's  philosophy  with  the  practical  work  of  the 
other  Danish  schools  which  are  so  successful  hi  meeting 
the  needs  of  an  agricultural  people. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FEASIBILITY  OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS  TO 
AMERICAN  CONDITIONS 

General  Statement.  —  The  discussion  of  adapting 
the  folk  high  schools  to  American  conditions  has  been 
left  to  the  last.  It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  raise 
the  question  as  to  whether  such  an  adaptation  is  pos- 
sible after  telling  the  Danish  story  in  detail  above,  or 
whether  it  is  desirable  to  make  use  of  the  inspiring  folk 
high  school  culture  as  a  leavening  influence  in  American 
communities.  The  only  questions  asked  ought  to  be, 
Where  should  the  beginnings  be  made?  And  how 
should  they  be  made  ? 

That  there  is  both  a  place  and  a  need  must  be  evident 
to  people  of  ordinary  discernment.  The  great  national 
industrial  transition  going  on  round  about  us  at  the 
present  time  is  forcing  upon  the  country  a  partial  reor- 
ganization of  the  educational  system.  Fifty  years 
ago  the  American  people  were  essentially  agricultural. 
By  1913  it  has  become  half  rural  and  half  urban,  half 
agricultural  and  half  industrial.  The  cities  are  grow- 
ing apace  —  often  at  the  expense  of  rural  communities 

303 


304  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

—  and  thither  are  flocking  also  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  unassimilated  aliens. 

It  is  self-evident  that  an  educational  process  which 
can  reach  clear  down  to  the  roots  of  things,  strengthening 
character,  and  teaching  rights  of  fellowman,  loyalty 
to  the  State,  and  fear  of  God,  even  while  it  supplies  the 
youth  and  old  men,  without  distinction,  with  practical 
training  for  bread-winning,  may  be  made  of  inestimable 
value  in  hurrying  the  Americanization  of  the  alien. 
Such  is  the  Danish  system.  But  the  school,  after  all, 
adapts  itself  most  readily  to  country  needs  and  condi- 
tions. And  in  American  rural  life  there  seems,  if  any- 
thing, greater  urgency  for  educational  reorganization 
than  in  city  life. 

The  Agricultural  Reorganization.  —  The  movement 
away  from  the  land  —  either  to  the  cities  or  to  newer, 
unexhausted  soil  —  has  retarded  and  stunted  the  agri- 
cultural development  of  whole  sections  in  our  country. 
In  places  this  retardation  has  culminated  in  the  decay 
of  both  agriculture  and  the  people  who  live  on  the  soil. 
There  is  a  surprising  amount  of  degeneracy  in  many 
one-time  prosperous  rural  communities  which  have 
become  drained  of  their  best  blood.  Likewise,  other 
sections,  lying  far  from  the  highways  of  civilization, 
have  become  lost  to  progress,  not  because  of  disinte- 
gration of  population  particularly,  but  because  of  the 
deadening  effects  due  to  isolation  from  fellowmen. 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      305 

The  future  of  our  agricultural  life  must  be  closely 
tied  up  with  education.  The  pioneer  period  of  the 
nation  lies  behind  us;  and  even  the  time  of  household 
economy  in  American  life  is  past.  Instead,  we  are  in 
the  midst  of  a  period  of  exploitation.  Even  before 
rural  districts  had  felt  the  call  of  the  cities  and  the  beck- 
oning of  the  West,  land  exploitation  and  land  specula- 
tion were  well  under  way.  One  of  our  greatest  national 
weaknesses  is  this  disregard  for  the  God-given  soil  and 
the  way  we  plunder  it.  The  soil  should  be  holy;  but 
the  schools,  at  least,  have  been  unable  to  inculcate  this 
doctrine.  The  very  worst  phase  of  our  present  agricul- 
tural transition,  perhaps,  is  tenant  farming.  Ameri- 
can landowners  are  moving  to  town,  drawn  thither 
by  educational,  religious,  and  social  attractions.  Here 
they  add  little  to  organized  life,  being  naturally  con- 
servative and  opposed  to  progressive  enterprise.  The 
farms  are  left  in  the  hands  of  tenants  that  "  skin  " 
the  soil  to  death  in  their  efforts  to  meet  the  increas- 
ingly high  rents.  This  suicidal  system  is  gradually 
destroying  our  greatest  natural  resource  —  the  soil. 
And  now,  what  have  the  rural  schools  been  doing  to 
check  this  national  evil  ? 

The  Old  Rural  Schools  Unable  to  Cope  with  the  Situa- 
tion. —  The  small  one-teacher  schools  which  answered 
well  the  needs  of  rural  life  among  the  pioneers  and  the 
household  economy  type  of  farmers,  can  no  longer  keep 


306  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

up  with  the  procession  of  change  and  reorganization  in 
agricultural  life,  and  must  be  abandoned  for  a  new 
type  of  school  organized  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  new 
agriculture  —  that  of  the  husbandman  type. 

It  is  true  that  in  some  sections  these  small  schools 
must  persist  for  an  indefinite  time,  chiefly  on  account 
of  geographical  difficulties.  Here,  the  most  will  have 
to  be  made  of  a  bad  situation  by  providing  good, 
well-trained  and  well-paid  teachers,  and  who,  withal, 
must  have  the  right  vision  of  the  new  agricultural 
life. 

Coming  of  the  Centralized  Farmers'  Schools.  —  A 
great  movement  is  now  beginning  to  spread  across  the 
continent,  which  contemplates  the  consolidation  of  the 
many  weakling  schools  in  a  few  centrally  located,  graded 
farmers'  schools.  The  best  organized  of  the  consoli- 
dated schools  offer  eight  grades  of  elementary  work  and 
from  two  to  four  years  of  high  school  work. 

The  new  schools  should  do  for  the  community  what 
the  old  have  been  incapable  of  doing ;  namely,  training 
the  boys  to  become  scientific  farmers  and  the  girls  prac- 
tical farmers'  helpmeets.  Such  training  can  be  made  to 
inculcate  a  wholesome  love  of  country  life,  and  may  be 
expected  to  counteract  the  townward  exodus.  More- 
over, from  these  schools  must  come  many  impulses  to 
organize  the  country  people  on  a  more  permanent  social 
and  economic  basis. 


FEASIBILITY  OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS      307 

How  the  Reorganized  Schools  may  profit  by  the 
Danish  System.  —  The  first  lesson  taught  by  a  study 
of  the  Danish  system  is  that  rural  schools  must  be  reared 
in  the  midst  of  the  rural  community  and  nowhere  else. 
By  this  is  meant  the  open  country  or  the  rural-minded 
village,  preferably  the  former.  The  whole  system  of 
Danish  rural  schools  —  elementary  school,  folk  high 
school,  agricultural  school,  and  school  of  household 
economics  —  invariably  lie  in  a  rural  environment. 
Their  founders  are  too  wise  to  tempt  the  pupils'  sus- 
ceptibilities for  city  life  by  rearing  the  schools  in  the 
organized  urban  centers. 

There  are  in  the  United  States  at  this  time  several 
thousand  consolidated  schools,  many  of  them  built 
in  the  midst  of  ideal  rural  surroundings  —  as  real  farm 
schools.  But  in  too  many  instances,  unfortunately, 
consolidation  has  been  brought  about  by  disorganizing 
independent  districts  adjacent  to  some  village  or  larger 
town,  adding  the  taxable  farm  area  to  this  and  sending 
the  children  to  the  town  school.  It  should  be  under- 
stood that  this  is  not  invariably  a  wrong  way  to  solve 
the  problem.  If  the  village  is  rural-minded  and  clean, 
nearly  as  good  results  may  be  looked  for;  but  ordi- 
narily, the  town  school  is  organized  solely  for  the  town 
children,  and  the  farm  boys  and  girls  are  not  likely  to 
come  under  satisfactory  influences,  since  the  agricul- 
tural atmosphere  will  be  lacking. 


308  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

Parenthetically  speaking,  it  may  be  stated  here  that 
in  one  or  two  states  where  the  consolidation  has  taken 
place  right  in  the  open  country,  the  organizers  have  been 
so  unwise  as  to  carry  to  the  country  a  fully  organized 
town  course  of  study,  including  grades  and  high  school, 
striving  to  graft  this  city  branch  on  the  rural  stock. 
Such  procedure  must  fail  wherever  tried,  and  in  several 
instances  it  has  brought  the  reorganization  of  the  schools 
into  ill-repute. 

The  Folk  High  School  Spirit  in  Our  Agricultural 
Communities.  —  It  has  been  stated  and  reiterated  above 
that  the  folk  high  school  spirit  has  emancipated  the 
agricultural  population  in  Denmark.  It  has  at  least 
made  them  the  peers  of  their  city  brethren.  They 
have  become  leaders  in  affairs  —  in  production,  in 
distribution,  in  politics,  and  chiefly  because  they  have 
learned  to  think  for  themselves  and  to  act  independently 
of  the  industrial  classes.  As  much  cannot  be  said  of 
our  farmers  as  a  body.  The  schools  have  been  of  small 
help  hi  this  respect.  Now  that  the  new  agricultural 
schools  are  coming  to  the  nation  we  should  be  clear  on 
several  points : 

First,  there  is  great  danger  of  going  to  the  extreme 
in  the  immediately  practical  and  technical.  The  work 
of  the  schools  is  in  danger  of  focusing  too  much  on 
making  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before, 
on  teaching  girls  to  cook  and  keep  house  according  to 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS      309 

sanitary  regulations,  and  the  like.  These  things  are 
all  excellent  and  must  be  taught  in  the  schools ;  but  they 
are  utterly  insufficient  to  make  us  a  really  great  agri- 
cultural nation.  Let  us  recall  here,  it  was  not  the  local 
agricultural  schools  and  household  economic  schools 
that  primarily  made  Denmark  a  great  scientific  agri- 
cultural nation.  If  the  worldly  practical  is  separated 
from  a  broadening  culture  the  life  horizon  of  the  pupil 
is  prone  to  become  narrowed  down  to  what  is  immedi- 
ately present  only,  resulting  in  shrewd,  calculating  seek- 
ing for  personal  gain  instead  of  a  far-reaching  altruism. 

Second,  our  final  conquest  of  the  soil  can  scarcely 
come  before  a  more  genuine  folk  culture  permeates  our 
rural  communities  at  large.  This  would  teach  a  greater 
love  of  the  soil  —  and  the  naturalist  farmer  is  the  great- 
est kind  of  farmer;  it  would  help  us  to  measure  the 
good  in  life  by  spiritual  standards  and  not  by  man-made 
rules.  It  would  help  us  to  rise  above  the  limitations 
of  locality  and  state,  and  teach  an  understanding  of 
the  national  and  even  universal  in  existence. 

Therefore,  men  and  women,  trained  in  schools  where 
this  inspiration  abides,  themselves  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  altruism,  wise  as  to  the  purpose  in  life,  inspired 
and  inspiring  —  and  such  only,  should  be  given  charge 
of  the  new  farm  schools! 

Inspirational    Lectures    and    Extension    Courses.  - 
The  writer  believes  that  there  should  be  at  least  one 


310  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

inspirational  lecture  by  teachers  and  others  daily  in 
all  the  consolidated  rural  schools.  There  is  need  of 
real  thought  food  for  the  daily  appetite  of  adolescent 
boys  and  girls.  To  argue  that  there  is  no  time  for  these 
things  in  the  schools  would  be  much  the  same  as  to  say 
that  we  have  not  time  to  live  our  lives.  If  teachers 
are  incapable  of  giving  heart-to-heart  talks  intended 
to  make  the  pupils  pause  and  seriously  seek  the  purpose 
of  life,  it  is  quite  evident  that  they  are  out  of  place  hi  the 
schoolroom. 

The  Danish  folk  high  schools  are  centers  from  which 
all  kinds  of  extension  work  spring.  To  begin  with, 
grown-up  people  of  the  community  take  advantage  of 
the  noon-day  and  evening  lectures  in  the  regular  lec- 
ture halls ;  and  in  summer  they  attend  numerous  meet- 
ings in  the  groves  near  by  the  schools.  Finally,  the 
high  school  leaders  organize  lecture  courses  in  the  assem- 
bly halls,  far  and  wide,  over  the  country.  Some  such 
work  is  being  done  in  our  country  now ;  but  it  is  only 
a  meager  beginning.  Every  consolidated  and  other 
farm  school  must  become  the  social  and  intellectual 
center  of  the  community.  Stated  lecture  courses  — 
both  inspirational  and  practical  —  should  be  offered 
the  grown  people  of  the  school  community. 

Short  Courses  for  All  who  need  Help.  —  Nothing  in 
the  plans  of  the  folk  high  schools  and  their  auxiliaries 
appealed  to  the  investigator  more  strongly  than  did 


FEASIBILITY   OF   ADAPTING   FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      311 

the  continuous  short  courses.  At  the  small  hold  schools, 
for  example,  new  courses  begin  each  first  and  third 
Tuesday  of  the  month,  and  continue  eleven  or  twelve 
months  in  the  year.  The  time  spent  in  school  is  short ; 
but  it  is  long  enough  to  give  an  abundant  store  of  inspira- 
tion and  much  practical  knowledge. 

Annual  short  courses  are  now  a  part  of  the  established 
work  of  most  of  our  agricultural  colleges,  and  even  the 
local  village  and  country  schools  in  a  few  states  have 
begun  to  offer  this  work.  But  the  work  has  not  yet 
been  carried  so  far  that  people  beyond  school  age,  as 
ordinarily  understood,  feel  that  the  school  is  intended 
as  fully  for  them  as  for  the  children.  It  will  be  a  great 
day  in  the  life  of  American  country  communities  when 
the  schools  shall  see  their  way  clear  to  labor  continuously 
for  the  whole  community  —  to  seek  to  solve  the  life 
problems  for  all  the  people,  whether  young  or  old. 

The  preceding  paragraphs  have  merely  suggested 
the  application  of  Danish  folk  school  spirit  and  matter 
to  the  new  farm  schools  that  are  gradually  superseding 
the  older  smaller  schools.  The  remainder  of  the  sec- 
tion is  devoted  to  the  possible  establishment  of  the 
school  as  a  whole  —  in  a  modified  form  —  in  certain 
sections  of  the  country. 

Why  there  is  Need  of  Schools  for  Grown-ups  in 
the  United  States.  —  When  the  Federal  Census  for 
the  year  1910  was  taken,  there  were  in  the  United  States 


312  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

5,516,163  persons  ten  years  of  age  and  over  who  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  including  2,273,603  who  were 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over.  "  Of  these  illiter- 
ates, 3,184,633,  or  58  per  cent,  were  white  persons; 
1,534,272,  or  28  per  cent,  were  native-born  whites; 
and  1,650,361,  or  30  per  cent,  foreign-born  whites; 
2,227,731,  or  40  per  cent,  were  negroes.  The  rest,  2 
per  cent,  were  Indians,  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  others."  l 

More  than  two  thirds  of  all  the  illiterates  come  from 
rural  communities.  These  illiterates  are  not  now  limited 
to  race  or  section  of  country.  The  colored  illiteracy 
of  the  South  is  almost  balanced  by  the  ignorant  aliens 
of  the  North;  and  the  illiteracy  among  the  remote 
parts  of  the  Southern  Mountain  Plateau  is  scarcely 
greater  than  the  illiteracy  in  rural  life  in  the  Northern 
Appalachians. 

But  all  this  illiteracy  is  found  very  largely  among 
persons  above  twenty  years  of  age  —  men  and  women 
who  cannot  be  expected  to  get  their  education  from 
the  ordinary  school.  The  nation  has  its  choice  between 
letting  this  generation  of  illiterates  continue  to  live 
and  die  in  their  ignorance  at  a  fearful  cost  to  national 
life ;  or  it  may  organize  schools  especially  adapted  to 
their  needs,  in  which  they  may  get  the  rudiments  of 
learning,  and  in  addition  to  this,  some  inspiration  to  do 

1  See  "  Illiteracy  in  the  United  States  and  An  Experiment  for  its  Elim- 
ination." Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1913.  No.  20. 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      313 

better,  some  insight  into  the  highest  good  in  life,  some- 
thing to  lift  them  out  of  the  deadening  materialism  and 
indifference  for  country  and  their  fellow  men. 

The  South  Atlantic  Highland  a  Good  Place  to  Begin. 
—  The  most  natural  section  of  the  United  States  in 


^^Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau  Belt, 
^^Greater  Appalachian  Valtey  Belt 
lllll  III  Appalachian  Mountain  Baft. 


which  to  begin  the  organization  of  schools  for  grown-ups, 
modeled  after  the  Danish  schools,  is  the  great  broken 


314  RURAL  DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

upland  region  that  usually  goes  by  the  name  of  the 
South  Atlantic  Highland.1 

This  comprises  a  total  area  of  108,164  square  miles, 
with  a  population  of  5,085,736.  One  whole  state  and 
parts  of  seven  others  have  been  carved  out  of  the  South 
Atlantic  Highland,  which  really  embraces  the  three 
well-marked  geographical  areas  known  as  the  Alleghany- 
Cumberland  Plateau  Belt,  the  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley  Belt,  and  the  Appalachian  Mountain  Belt,  or 
as  it  is  also  called,  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt.  It  includes 
the  whole  of  West  Virginia,  forty-two  counties  in  west- 
ern Virginia,  twenty-three  in  western  North  Carolina, 
and  four  in  western  South  Carolina;  twenty-five  in 
northern  Georgia,  seventeen  in  northeastern  Alabama, 
forty-five  in  eastern  Tennessee,  and  thirty-six  in  eastern 
Kentucky. 

While  large  areas  within  this  Highland  are  no  more 
backward  educationally  than  the  rest  of  the  country, 
all  are  included  here  for  convenience  of  statement. 
But  the  truth  remains  in  any  case  that  adult  illiteracy 
in  these  mountain  regions  is  surprisingly  large  and  duty 
demands  that  educators  face  the  facts  as  they  really 
are  in  order  that  relief  may  come.  The  Federal  Census 
for  1910  gives  the  illiteracy  per  thousand  in  the  total 
population  ten  years  of  age  and  over  in  these  states  as 

1  For  the  map  and  data  as  to  area  and  population  of  the  South  Atlantic 
Highland,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  John  C.  Campbell,  Secretary  Southern 
Highland  Division,  Russell  Sage  Foundation. 


NORTH  CAROLINA  MOUNTAIN  FOLK. 

A  modified  form  of  the  Danish  folk  high  school  and  agricultural  school  would 
become  a  blessing  to  the  retarded  sections  of  our  own  country. 


PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  SCHOOL  IN  THE  SOUTH  ATLANTIC  HIC.H LANDS. 

The  people  of  these  regions  are  eager  to  be  helped.  The  only  question  is,  shall 
it  come  to  them  in  the  form  of  the  three  R's,  or  shall  it  be  the  culture 
that  lifts  one  beyond  one's  native  mountain  tops. 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      315 

follows:  West  Virginia,  83;  Kentucky,  121;  Tennessee, 
136;  Virginia,  152;  North  Carolina,  185;  Georgia, 
207  ;  Alabama,  229.  The  figures  for  adult  males  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  over  are  even  more  startling. 
For  the  same  states  they  are:  West  Virginia,  104  for 
each  thousand  in  the  total  population ;  Kentucky,  145  ; 
Tennessee,  157 ;  Virginia,  177 ;  North  Carolina,  213 ; 
Georgia,  228;  Alabama,  243;  and  South  Carolina,  271. 
These  figures  are  for  the  entire  state,  and  would  in  some 
cases  be  increased  if  applied  to  the  highland  area  only, 
while  in  others,  on  account  of  the  large  lowland  negro 
population,  they  would  be  somewhat  diminished.  The 
figures  are,  however,  sufficiently  correct  to  emphasize 
the  urgency  of  the  need. 

The  "  Moonlight  "  Schools  of  Kentucky,  an  Experi- 
ment in  the  Elimination  of  Adult  Illiteracy.  —  Attempts 
have  been  made  from  time  to  time  by  Church  organiza- 
tions and  .individuals  to  reach  the  illiterate  adults  of 
the  southern  highlands.  Some  of  these  attempts  have 
been  more  or  less  abortive  of  results,  and  others  have 
proved  a  great  blessing  to  limited  communities.  A 
most  notable  illustration  of  what  can  be  done  —  show- 
ing also  the  startling  need  of  what  must  be  done  —  is 
the  work  of  Mrs.  Cora  Wilson  Stewart  and  her  asso- 
ciates, in  the  so-called  "  Moonlight "  or  night  schools 
for  illiterates,  which  were  begun  in  Rowan  County, 
Kentucky,  in  the  fall  of  1911. 


316  RURAL   DENMARK   AND   ITS    SCHOOLS 

Mrs.  Stewart  made  a  careful  study  of  local  condi- 
tions and  decided  the  most  feasible  plan  to  be  to  open 
night  schools  on  moonlight  evenings  in  the  public  school- 
houses  over  the  county.  The  regular  teachers  all 
responded  to  the  call  and  made  their  preparations  and 
issued  their  invitations.  We  read,  "  It  was  expected 
that  the  response  would  be  slow,  but  more  than  1,200 
men  and  women  from  1 8  to  86  years  of  age  were  enrolled 
the  first  evening.  They  came  trooping  over  the  hills 
and  out  of  the  hollows,  some  to  add  to  the  meager  edu- 
cation received  in  the  inadequate  schools  of  their  child- 
hood, some  to  receive  their  first  lessons  in  reading 
and  writing.  Among  them  were  not  only  illiterate 
farmers  and  their  illiterate  wives,  sons,  and  daughters, 
but  also  illiterate  merchants  or  storekeepers,  illiterate 
ministers,  and  illiterate  lumbermen.  Mothers,  bent 
with  age,  came  that  they  might  learn  to  read 
letters  from  absent  sons  and  daughters,  and  that 
they  might  learn  for  the  first  time  to  write  to 
them."  l 

This  remarkable  experiment  grew  rapidly  in  popu- 
larity. In  1912,  the  enrollment  of  adults  in  Rowan 
County  reached  nearly  1,600  and  the  movement  had 
meanwhile  spread  to  eight  or  ten  other  counties.  Of 
the  i, 600  mentioned  above,  300  entered  the  school 
utterly  unable  to  read  and  write  at  all,  300  were  from 

1  See  "Illiteracy  in  the  United  States,"  p.  28. 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING   FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS      317 

those  who  had  learned  in  September,  1911,  and  1,000 
men  and  women  of  meager  education. 

The  work  of  such  schools  as  these  must  naturally  be 
limited  to  the  merest  rudiments  of  education.  To  learn 
to  read  and  write,  to  spell  and  figure,  with  brief  drills 
in  the  essentials  of  language,  history,  geography,  civics, 
sanitation,  and  agriculture  —  this  is  the  most  that 
can  be  expected.  But  the  mountain  districts  crave 
vastly  more  than  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  The 
fatalism  of  retardation  engendered  by  centuries  of  isola- 
tion, poverty,  and  civil  war  has  placed  a  peculiar  stamp 
upon  the  civilization  there  which  mere  academic  schools 
will  find  it  difficult  to  remove.  At  least  it  cannot  be 
removed  in  the  present  generation. 

The  Berry  Country-life  Schools  near  Rome,  Georgia. 
—  Religious  and  philanthropic  organizations,  as  was 
stated  above,  have  done  what  they  could  to  alleviate 
life  conditions  in  the  South  Atlantic  Highland.  This  has 
been  done  chiefly  through  mission  schools  of  elementary 
and  secondary  grade.  Many  of  these  schools  also  have 
limited  their  efforts  to  the  mere*  rudiments  of  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic,  although  a  small  number  of  the 
most  successful  have  extended  their  work  beyond  this 
and  have  succeeded  in  teaching  the  practical  things 
necessary  to  improve  immediate  living  conditions.  In 
this  way  the  fine  old  home  crafts  of  the  early  Scotch-Irish 
pioneers  have  become  revived  in  places  through  the 


318  RURAL  DENMARK  AND  ITS   SCHOOLS 

schools.  Weaving,  basket  making,  and  other  useful 
household  arts  are  taking  on  a  new  life  in  some  moun- 
tain homes,  which  means  that  a  new  contentment  and 
an  added  source  of  income  are  coming  to  the  moun- 
tain women. 

But  mere  mission  schools  and  "  moonlight "  schools 
cannot  hope  to  solve  the  great  problems  of  the  moun- 
tains. This  demands  a  country-life  school  where  the 
mountain  folk  can  come  and  live  and  do.  At  least  one 
such  school  has  been  organized  and  is  now  beginning 
to  bless  the  young  men  and  the  young  women  in  the 
Southern  highlands.  This  is  the  remarkable  Berry 
Country-life  Schools  at  Mount  Berry  near  Rome, 
Georgia.  The  school  was  founded  in  1902  by  Miss 
Martha  Berry,  a  Southern  woman  of  the  highest  ideals 
and  sympathies,  who  is  devoting  her  life  and  her  means 
to  setting  up  a  new  race  of  country-life  leaders  in  her 
own  section  of  the  South.  The  Berry  schools  —  for 
there  are  separate  schools  for  young  men  and  young 
women  —  more  nearly  approach  the  Danish  ideal  than 
does  any  other  school  of  its  kind  in  our  country.  Here 
is  taught  a  love  of  the  soil  and  the  dignity  of  honest 
labor.  Here  the  young  men  are  taught  self-help  and 
are  assisted  to  useful  trades,  while  the  young  women  are 
taught  independence  and  thrift  and  are  prepared  to 
become  practical  housekeepers.  With  more  means  at 
its  disposal,  this  great  institution  might  be  enabled  to 


FEASIBILITY  OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      319 

reach  outward  to  bless  all  of  the  people  —  young  and 
old  —  who  stand  in  need  of  inspiration  and  guidance  to 
get  over  the  hard  places  in  life  —  and  therewith  fulfill 
all  the  requirements  of  the  Danish  folk  school  system. 

Schools  which  might  be  transformed  into  Country- 
life  Institutions  after  the  Danish  Type.  —  A  study  of 
higher  educational  institutions  in  our  country  discloses 
the  fact  that  many  denominational,  private,  and  semi- 
private  colleges  and  schools  which  in  the  past  have  done 
great  public  service  in  an  educational  way,  now  lie 
stranded,  high  and  dry,  because  they  have  been  unable 
to  keep  up  with  the  flood  tide  of  national  change.  Every 
section  of  the  country  has  schools  of  the  old  classic  type 
which,  because  of  their  ultraconservatism  and  reluc- 
tance to  conform  their  work  with  modern  demands,  can 
no  longer  do  a  service  commensurate  with  the  physical 
equipment  at  their  disposal.  Occasionally  it  has  hap- 
pened that  better  supported  State  schools  with  more 
liberal  curricula  have  dispossessed  the  smaller  institu- 
tions. 

Many  such  schools  lie  on  the  borders  of  the  South 
Atlantic  Highland,  in  the  midst  of  a  large  native  popula- 
tion with  the  finest  of  traditions,  and  almost  under  the 
shadows  of  the  mountains  where  dwell  a  folk  of  pure 
Anglo-Saxon  origin,  but  now  retarded  and  in  need  of 
help.  The  people  of  the  valleys  and  the  mountain 
sides  cannot  be  saved  by  the  philosophy  of  the  ancients, 


320  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

nor  by  courses  in  Latin  and  Greek  —  excellent  though 
all  these  be.  The  mountain  folk  crave  a  different  kind  of 
learning  —  a  culture  that  can  help  them  live  more  com- 
plete lives  as  members  of  the  great  human  family  and  as 
citizens  of  the  State  and  Nation,  which  will  help  them 
earn  their  daily  bread  in  their  own  community. 

Is  it  not  fair  to  say  that  a  school  of  the  Berry  type  is 
doing  vastly  more  to  lift  the  nation  than  are  many  of 
the  small  schools  of  the  old  scholastic  type  which  are 
unable  to  aid  the  common  folk  pleading  for  help  at  their 
doors  ?  Is  it  not  time  for  men  to  rise  up  and  reorganize 
these  schools  by  turning  them  away  from  the  past  and 
facing  them  towards  the  needs  of  the  present  day? 
The  introduction  of  a  good  measure  of  Danish  folk  high 
school  culture  and  agricultural  theory  and  practice 
would  unquestionably  restore  them  to  their  former  place 
of  usefulness  in  the  great  work  of  the  Nation. 

How  the  Schools  might  be  Reorganized.  —  The  schools 
should  be  able  to  inspire  to  an  early  coordination  of  head, 
heart,  and  hand.  Real  inspirers  must  be  found  to  take 
charge  of  the  schools.  These  should  offer  a  liberal 
number  of  lectures  on  historical,  social-economic,  and 
local  themes,  in  connection  with  the  practical  work  in 
the  rudiments  of  learning. 

The  schools  should  receive  all  who  are  not  now  looked 
after  by  the  public  schools.  In  some  communities 
the  schools  would  include  even  the  public  school  chil- 


FEASIBILITY   OF  ADAPTING  FOLK  HIGH   SCHOOLS      321 

dren.  There  should  be  courses  for  those  who  are  entirely 
illiterate  as  well  as  for  those  who  have  had  some  school- 
ing. The  schools  must,  in  fact,  be  ready  to  meet  the 
problems  of  all  the  people,  without  regard  to  age  or 
preparation.  The  poor  hillside  farms  have  their  prob- 
lems —  these  must  be  looked  after.  The  mountains 
need  their  own  artisan  class  to  rebuild  the  homes  and 
reestablish  the  household  arts  of  the  olden  time  on  a 
modern  footing.  There  should  be  long  courses  for  the 
youth  and  continuous  short  courses  for  their  parents 
and  grandparents.  There  should  be  day  lectures  open 
to  the  whole  country  side,  and  extension  lectures  should 
be  carried  into  the  remotest  coves.  The  schools  for 
smallholders  in  Denmark  had  conditions  almost  as 
difficult  to  meet.  What  they  did,  Americans  will  not 
refuse  to  do. 

The  work  might  be  directed  to  some  extent  by  the 
national  government,  and  be,  in  time,  subsidized  by 
national  and  state  aid.  The  heads  of  the  schools 
should  have  much  the  same  freedom  as  in  the  Danish 
schools.  As  a  beginning,  tuition  and  lodging  should 
be  entirely  free,  and  scholarships  might  include  all  ex- 
penses in  return  for  work  done  on  the  school  premises. 

Schools  in  which  to  train  the  "  Inspirers."  -  But  who 
shall  the  teachers  be  in  these  schools?  Whence  shall 
come  the  inspirers  able  to  understand  the  needs  of  their 
people  and  willing  to  undertake  the  work?  Much 


322  RURAL   DENMARK  AND   ITS   SCHOOLS 

the  same  questions  are  being  asked  throughout  the 
nation  to-day  in  regard  to  the  supply  of  teachers  for 
the  modern  rural  schools.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
trained  leadership  needed  in  country  districts  cannot  be 
realized  until  a  staff  of  teachers,  professionally  trained 
and  with  the  right  vision  and  power,  establish  them- 
selves as  permanent  teachers.  Heretofore,  the  schools 
have  done  little  to  prepare  rural  teachers  for  their  diffi- 
cult tasks.  A  most  encouraging  sign  of  the  times  is 
this  that  some  Normal  Schools,  Colleges  of  Agriculture, 
and  Schools  of  Education  in  the  Universities  have  begun 
to  see  their  opportunity  in  training  teachers  for  the 
new  farm  schools. 

But  with  all  that  is  being  done,  there  is  urgent  need 
for  one  or  more  central  schools  to  devote  all  their  energies 
to  the  preparation  of  rural  life  leaders  of  all  kinds  — 
teachers,  local  agricultural  experts,  rural  community 
organizers  of  various  kinds,  including  the  men  to  take 
charge  of  the  transplanted  folk  high  schools.  The 
Seaman  Knapp  Memorial  School  at  Nashville  is  prom- 
ising to  train  men  for  rural  leadership.  Perhaps  this 
school  and  other  southern  institutions  similarly  or- 
ganized may  begin  the  great  task  of  preparing  the  first 
leaders  for  the  folk  schools  in  the  South  Atlantic  High- 
land. Possibly  even  some  of  the  old  scholastic  insti- 
tutions may  hear  the  call  and  answer  it, 


APPENDIX 

A  BRIEF  STATEMENT  OF  THE  RURAL  LIFE  MOVEMENT 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  l 

INTRODUCTORY 

We  of  the  United  States  have  met  with  no  great 
political  disaster  to  stir  us  on  to  larger  purpose.  But 
we  have  with  us  to-day,  nevertheless,  many  serious 
problems  that  will  require  our  thoughtful  and  prayerful 
consideration.  Of  these,  none  has  greater  significance 
than  the  country  life  movement,  so  called. 

Our  country  life  is  undergoing  a  transition.  There  is 
a  shifting,  changing,  and  one  might  almost  say  disin- 
tegration going  on  in  country  population,  manifesting 
itself  in  the  crumbling,  or  at  least,  weakening,  of  church 
and  school  and  allied  institutions  out  in  the  open  coun- 
try. This  situation  must  be  met  fairly  and  frankly  by 
the  thinking  men  and  women  of  America.  It  is  well 
to  bear  in  mind  that  our  country  life  is  our  only  genu- 
inely normal  American  life.  It  stands  for  a  rugged 
conservatism  which  is  both  wholesome  and  essential 

1  Some  portions  of  the  following  have  been  used  by  the  author  in  a 
little  brochure  prepared  several  years  ago  for  the  Missionary  Education 
Movement  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

323 


324  APPENDIX 

in  the  strife  to  reconcile  all  the  elements  of  our  present 
civilization.  A  proper  solution  of  the  difficulties  now 
confronting  American  country  life  must  ultimately  be 
of  vital  importance  to  city  life  and  national  life  as  a 
whole.  Under  such  circumstances,  we  may  well  con- 
sider what  other  nations  are  doing  to  make  their  country 
life  satisfactory  and  wholesome.  The  least  we  can 
learn  is  that  the  past  lack  of  policy  has  lead  to  needless 
disorganization,  and  that  the  introduction  of  a  virile 
policy  of  progressive  forethought  at  the  present  time 
will  do  as  much  for  our  people  as  it  has  done  in  other 
countries  where  tried. 

HISTORY   OF   CHANGES   IN   AMERICAN   RURAL   LIFE 

The  Pioneers.  —  Our  New  England  forefathers  lived 
a  village  life,  with  their  existence  centering  in  the  meet- 
inghouse and  the  grammar  school.  Their  pastors  and 
teachers  of  the  first  generation  wore  the  gowns  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  The  life  they  lived  was  of  the  house- 
hold economy  type.  Modes  of  life  were  simple.  Each 
family  or  group  of  families  produced  practically  what- 
ever was  necessary  for  life's  sustenance.  Each  child 
in  the  family  was  taught  to  fear  God  and  to  study  his 
catechism,  and  the  three  R's.  The  practical  phases  of 
education  which  no  longer  are  taught  in  the  average 
home  were  a  part  of  the  daily  training. 

Meanwhile,  the  primitive  country  folk  —  the  pioneers 


APPENDIX  325 

-  had  their  wilderness  to  conquer.  Their  environment 
made  them  independent  and  self-reliant.  From  that  day 
to  this  the  dwellers  in  our  great  open  country  have  been 
swayed  by  an  individualistic  spirit  which  in  those  days 
was  essential  to  existence.  They  lived  along  the  frontier 
line,  ever  pushing  it  westward,  breaking  a  path  in  which 
civilization  could  follow.  Such  men  and  women  had 
little  of  school  and  church.  Some  of  them  could  worry 
their  way  through  Webster's  spelling  book  and  the 
Bible.  They  prayed  as  they  shot,  if  they  prayed  at  all 
—  straight  and  to  the  mark !  When  the  circuit  rider 
and  perambulating  schoolmaster  came  from  the  older 
settlements,  the  restless  path  breakers  for  civilization 
moved  nearer  to  the  setting  sun.  While  the  pioneer 
day  is  past,  farm  districts  still  retain  much  of  the  self- 
sufficient  individualism  which  marked  that  period.  This 
trait,  in  many  ways  so  praiseworthy,  is  the  very  thing 
that  makes  it  difficult  for  farmers  to-day  to  stand 
together  and  cooperate  in  things  of  mutual  concern. 

The  Household  Farmer.  —  Slowly,  as  the  pioneer 
cleared  the  way,  the  household  farmer  filled  the  land. 
He  reared  homes  and  tilled  the  soil.  His  tenancy  was 
a  permanent  one.  The  household  arts  were  brought 
out  to  the  farmstead  from  the  New  England  village. 
Church  spires  began  to  appear  along  the  sky  line. 
Church  services  were  held  with  some  regularity;  or 
in  lieu  of  these  services  Bible  study  and  devotional 


326  APPENDIX 

exercises  had  place  in  most  households.  Schools  were 
found  at  long  intervals  —  schools  well  attended,  because 
those  were  days  of  large  families  when  children  found  a 
five  or  six  mile  walk  to  school  no  great  hardship.  Many 
of  these  early  tillers  of  the  soil  may  have  been  practical 
farmers,  but  scientific  agriculturists  they  certainly  were 
not.  With  all  their  fear  of  God  they  did  not  hold  His 
soil  sacred.  Plundered  year  by  year  through  a  same- 
ness of  crops,  which  knew  no  rotation,  the  soil  early 
became  impoverished,  and  great  regions  east  of  the 
Alleghanies  faced  their  period  of  decay  and  disintegra- 
tion. As  the  vast  corn  and  wheat  lands  in  the  Middle 
West  were  thrown  open  to  settlement,  the  sterile  New 
England  hillside  farms  speedily  succumbed  to  the  un- 
equal competition.  This  led  to  farm  abandonment  or 
at  least  to  depletion  of  the  households  on  the  small 
unproductive  farms  in  New  England,  and  along  the 
entire  Atlantic  seaboard  as  far  south  as  Georgia. 

Mid-country  Development.  —  West  of  the  Allegha- 
nies a  great,  virile  people,  of  restless  and  unquenched 
spirit,  seized  upon  the  land.  Their  love  of  religion  and 
education  burned  strong  in  them,  and  churches  and 
schools  kept  pace  with  development  of  the  soil.  One 
thing  especially  was  marked :  These  churches  were 
built  to  answer  the  needs  of  the  time.  None  then 
demanded  resident  preachers.  When  the  circuit  rider 
made  his  round  every  four  or  six  weeks  the  whole  country- 


APPENDIX  327 

side  gathered  to  hear  the  Word.  The  children  were 
baptized ;  the  young  folks  were  wed.  Those  were  the 
thriving  days  of  camp  meetings  and  emotional  revivals ; 
for  such  things  were  bound  to  move  strongly  men  and 
women  dwelling,  as  our  fathers,  in  the  midst  of  great 
expanse  of  prairie  hemmed  in  by  vast  forest  reaches. 
The  schools,  too,  played  an  important  part  in  the  crude 
civilization  of  the  times.  Brawn  rather  than  brains 
was  master ;  indeed,  most  people  took  seriously  the  old 
saying  that  "  without  lickin'  there  can  be  no  larnin'." 

But  mark  the  change!  Settlers  coming  from  the 
older  Eastern  States  brought  along  with  them  to  the 
New  West  their  old  family  traditions,  their  religious 
sentiments,  and  their  educational  ideals.  Here  is  seen 
the  beginning  of  a  denominational  rivalry  which  in  our 
day  has  brought  disaster  to  the  country  church.  At 
every  crossroad,  where  people  at  one  time  had  been 
content  to  worship  in  a  union  church,  two,  three,  or 
more  rival  churches  appeared.  Competition  in  reli- 
gious life  seemed  for  years  to  stimulate  to  noblest 
effort ;  but,  unfortunately,  a  reaction  soon  set  in,  com- 
ing, as  we  shall  see,  from  a  source  then  unexpected,  and 
continuing  until  in  our  day  the  entire  country  church 
has  lost  much  of  its  one-time  influence  as  a  community 
builder  and  leader. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  school.  If  the  early 
schools  could  boast  nothing  else,  they  certainly  were 


328  APPENDIX 

big  schools.  A  man  teacher,  occasionally  well  educated, 
taught  here  big  crowds  of  strapping  boys  and  girls.  But 
by  and  by  local  ambition  and  short-sightedness  forced 
the  division  and  redivision  of  these  large  districts  into 
smaller  and  smaller  units  until  the  limited  tax  area 
could  no  longer  support  a  strong  man  teacher;  the 
whole  matter  ending  in  retarded  schools  at  the  hands 
of  underpaid  and  poorly  prepared  teachers. 

This  policy  in  church  and  school  was  already  causing 
disaster  when  another  phenomenon  came  to  be  reckoned 
with,  which  in  time  has  practically  completed  the  work 
of  retardation  begun  through  misplaced  zeal  and  exag- 
gerated ambition  —  this  is  the  recent  disintegration  of 
country  population  and  the  moving  away  from  the  land. 

Recent  Industrial  Revolution.  —  The  world-wide  in- 
dustrial revolution  which  began  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury with  the  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  and  power 
loom,  and  the  introduction  of  steam  power,  has  since  the 
Civil  War  all  but  changed  our  national  make-up.  In 
1790,  only  3.4  per  cent  of  the  American  people  lived  in 
cities,  now  just  about  one  half  of  the  nation  dwell  at 
the  great  industrial  centers.  The  phenomenal  growth 
of  cities  has  indeed  been  coincident  everywhere  with 
growth  in  manufacturing  industries.  These  latter  have 
produced  modern,  labor-saving  machinery  for  the  farm, 
and  have  consequently  reduced  the  demand  for  farm 
hands.  Factory-made  wares  and  cheap  transportation 


APPENDIX  329 

have  sounded  the  death  knell  of  many  local  industries 
which  in  the  olden  time  flourished  at  every  crossroads. 
Rural  craftsmen,  their  occupation  gone,  have  flocked 
to  the  city.  Farm  hands,  crowded  out  by  the  new 
machinery,  have  followed  in  the  same  path.  The 
youth  of  the  countryside  —  the  strong  young  men  and 
women  who  should  furnish  its  intelligence  and  vigorous 
life  —  have,  in  large  numbers,  faced  cityward,  attracted 
by  the  glamor  of  city  life  and  its  many  flattering  oppor- 
tunities for  advancement.  Once  the  disintegration  got 
under  way,  it  continued  to  grow  by  sheer  force  of  its 
own  increasing  momentum.  The  drift  was  at  first 
purely  economic  in  nature;  subsequently  every  social 
organization  in  the  country  began  to  feel  the  pressure 
and  to  yield  ground.  Life  in  farm  communities  has 
gradually  become  shorn  of  many  satisfactions,  where 
such  were  at  one  time  common.  People  are  moving 
to  town  because  the  rural  church  can  no  longer  offer 
the  spiritual  uplift  demanded  by  the  human  soul.  They 
go  because  the  rural  school  does  not  offer  an  adequate 
education.  They  go,  finally,  because  social  life  there  is 
barren  and  often  unwholesome  —  with  increasingly  large 
farms  in  many  sections  —  and  this  life  has  been  getting 
more  and  more  shorn  of  its  possibilities  in  proportion 
as  the  isolation  has  increased. 

Vanishing  Country  Church.  —  For  fear  that  the  readers 
may  not  get  the  full  purport  of  the  statements  made 


330  APPENDIX 

above,  some  details  may  be  offered  —  first,  as  regards 
the  country  church.  A  few  years  back  the  church  was 
the  "  meetinghouse  "  for  many  social  as  well  as  the 
religious  gatherings.  Here  the  young  folk  began  their 
courtship ;  here  they  were  married ;  here  their  children 
were  baptized;  and  here,  finally,  all  were  placed  to 
rest,  as  testified  by  the  leaning  tombstones  near  many  a 
weatherbeaten  country  church.  It  was  bad  enough  in 
the  early  day  to  set  up  many  churches  where  only  a  few 
were  needed.  Bad  became  worse  as  soon  as  the  rural 
disintegration  began.  Churches,  which  had  barely 
been  able  to  keep  open  doors,  were  abandoned  one  by 
one  until,  in  the  year  1912,  almost  every  state  in  the 
Union  could  count  them  by  the  hundreds. 

For  one  thing,  a  church  which  must  devote  all  energy 
to  keep  its  own  organization  alive  can  do  little  for  the 
extension  of  the  Kingdom.  Besides,  large  numbers  of 
such  churches  continue  as  constant  drains  on  the  Church 
Extension  and  Home  Mission  Boards  of  their  several 
denominations.  To  illustrate :  A  rural  lif  e  survey  made 
a  few  years  ago  by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  of  three  coun- 
ties in  northeastern  Missouri,  shows  that  the  average 
church  —  rural  and  village  —  spends  ninety-two  cents 
out  of  every  dollar  collected  to  keep  itself  alive,  seven 
cents  for  missions  and  Church  Boards,  and  only  one  cent 
for  local  benevolence.  Verily,  is  it  not  high  time  that  we 


APPENDIX  331 

apply  some  modern  business  sense  to  the  country  church 
organization !  In  the  state  of  Missouri  something  like 
one  thousand  country  churches  have  recently  been  aban- 
doned. With  their  doors  and  windows  nailed  up,  they 
are  crumbling  in  decay  and  becoming  eyesores  upon 
the  landscape.  The  neighboring  state  of  Illinois  makes 
fully  as  bad  a  showing,  and  other  states  are  faring  no 
better.  But  the  situation  is  not  hopeless;  it  need  not 
even  mean  that  religious  zeal  hi  rural  districts  is  materi- 
ally abating.  Some  country  life  surveys,  indeed,  show 
that  in  many  sections  the  country  folk  are  as  funda- 
mentally religious  as  they  ever  were,  though  in  others 
a  disregard  for  church  and  Sabbath  day  is  regrettably 
on  the  increase. 

Other  Losses.  —  With  the  introduction  of  modern  sys- 
tems of  communication  and  better  means  of  transporta- 
tion the  shut-in  condition  of  country  communities  has 
come  to  an  end.  They  were  opened  to  the  world  and 
became  a  part  of  the  world ;  but  the  world  at  large  has 
given  hi  return  much  less  than  it  took  from  the  average 
farm  community.  In  the  old-time  school  there  were  the 
good,  old-fashioned  debating  clubs  and  literary  societies, 
spelling  bees,  and  singing  schools;  of  a  more  social- 
economic  nature  were  the  quiltings,  the  huskings,  the 
barn  raisings,  and  play  parties  of  every  kind.  So  far  as 
all  these  activities  are  concerned,  which  in  the  olden  time 
brought  young  and  old  together  to  partake  of  a  natural, 


332  APPENDIX 

unconstrained  social  life,  they  have  either  been  aban- 
doned altogether  or  are  lingering  in  some  denatured  form. 
Neither  village-dwelling  preacher  nor  city-trained  teacher 
knows  how  to  give  the  country  folk  modern  substitutes 
for  their  "  lost  arts  "  ;  and  the  farmers  lack  leadership 
from  their  own  ranks. 

Tenant  Farming  and  Absentee  Landlordism.  —  Even 
before  the  farm  community  had  felt  the  call  of  the  city 
and  the  beckoning  of  the  West,  land  exploitation  and 
land  speculation  were  well  under  way.  One  of  our 
greatest  national  sins  is  this  disregard  for  the  God-given 
soil  and  the  way  we  plunder  it.  The  soil  should  be 
sacred,  but  we  do  not  comprehend  that  term.  The  era 
beginning  with  1873  has  been  especially  marked  by  land 
speculation,  making  well-nigh  impossible  a  stable  and 
permanent  country  community  life.  Holding  the  land 
only  long  enough  to  receive  the  coveted  rise  in  market 
value  and  then  moving  on  to  newer  lands  has  been  the 
universal  practice.  Under  such  conditions  "  home " 
cannot  have  the  true  ring  in  the  open  country.  But 
the  greatest  bane  of  our  present  agricultural  transition, 
after  all,  is  tenant  farming  and  absentee  landlord- 
ism. American  landowners  are  moving  to  town,  drawn 
thither  by  its  educational,  religious,  and  social  attrac- 
tions. Here  they  add  little  to  organized  life,  being 
naturally  conservative  and  opposed  to  progressive  enter- 
prise. The  farms  are  left  in  the  hands  of  tenants  that 


APPENDIX  333 

generally  "  skin  "  the  soil  to  death  in  their  efforts  to 
meet  the  heavy  rents.  This  suicidal  system  is  gradually 
destroying  our  greatest  natural  resource  —  the  soil. 
We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  Rome  as  falling  before 
the  onslaught  of  Goths  and  Germans;  but  in  reality, 
Rome  died  by  stages,  as  unwise  tax  policies  obliged  its 
peasantry  to  take  crop  after  crop  from  the  soil  with- 
out power  to  restore  the  soil's  declining  fertility.  What 
is  true  of  Rome  is  true  of  most  of  the  one-time  mighty 
empires  of  the  East.  Once  their  soil  became  debauched 
all  else  availed  but  little. 

OUR   RURAL   LIFE   PROBLEM 

Now,  just  what  is  the  rural  life  problem  ?  What  shall 
the  solution  be?  These  are  questions  that  must  be 
analyzed  hi  all  seriousness. 

What  the  Problem  is  Not.  —  To  begin  with,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  problem  is  not  essentially  a  movement 
to  draw  a  larger  population  to  country  districts.  It  is 
true  that  the  country  has  suffered  through  the  shift  in 
population  by  moving  to  town  and  to  newer  farm  regions. 
But  the  remedy  is  not  to  be  sought  in  the  so-called 
"  back-to-the-land "  movement.  This  agitation  is  a 
city  impulse,  which  if  realized  might  help  hi  a  measure 
to  solve  the  difficult  problem  of  the  city,  without  aiding 
the  open  country;  or  in  many  instances,  making  the 
difficulties  of  the  latter  still  more  complicated  by  dump- 


334  APPENDIX 

ing  upon  our  reserve  farm  lands  an  overflow  population 
of  defeated  or  impractical  city  people  —  a  population 
which  would  chiefly  add  to  the  blind  resignation  and 
fatalism  of  which  there  is  too  much  in  country  com- 
munities now.  Of  course,  so  far  as  "  rural-minded  " 
people  can  be  found  in  the  cities  the  country  welcomes 
them ;  otherwise  they  should  remain  where  they  are. 

What  we  need  on  the  farm  to-day  is  not  so  much  greatly 
increased  numbers  of  producers  as  greatly  enlarged 
production.  This  can  never  be  realized  from  a  flow  of 
population  from  the  city,  for  these  people  are,  and 
nearly  always  will  remain,  "  city-minded." 

What  the  Problem  Is.  —  The  call  really  is  for  a  more 
scientific  agriculture,  which  shall  render  greater  returns 
on  expended  efforts.  Such  an  agricultural  life  will 
form  the  very  foundation  of  all  satisfactory  living  in 
the  country.  If  farming  communities  can  keep  the 
rural  population  now  there,  and  make  farm  life  so 
attractive  that  the  natural  increase  in  population  will 
be  content  to  spend  their  lives  as  farmers,  all  will  in  the 
end  be  well  with  the  country  community. 

The  problem  resolves  itself  into  a  matter  of  outlook 
on  life.  There  can  be  no  lasting  improvement  until 
our  farmers  shall  in  some  way  attain  a  new  and  broader 
outlook  on  the  real  significance  of  farm  life.  The  latter 
must  be  more  than  '  a  wearisome  round  of  labor,  of  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  of  saving  and  skimping,  of  doing  with- 


APPENDIX  335 

out  farm  conveniences  and  household  helps  —  solely 
to  make  money.'  The  solution  lies  finally  in  our  ability 
to  keep  in  the  open  country  a  good,  sound  population 
with  correct  American  ideals  capable  of  scientific  farm- 
ing ;  and,  withal,  content  to  live  wholesome  lives  in  close 
communion  with  the  Almighty. 

The  ultimate  readjustment  of  the  country  community 
will  have  to  come  at  the  hands  of  the  country  folks 
themselves;  but  before  the  farming  districts  are  able 
to  produce  this  generation  of  strong  men  and  women 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  masterful  action,  there  are 
many  obstacles  to  be  overcome  and  much  work  to  be 
done.  Rural  life  to-day  is  what  it  is  largely  through 
city  domination.  It  behooves,  then,  that  the  city  lend 
a  helping  hand  to  this  promising  field  for  educators, 
social  philosophers,  philanthropists,  and  church  workers 
of  all  kinds. 

General  Factors  in  the  Problem.  —  It  is  now  time 
to  make  a  brief  statement  of  the  general  factors  through 
which  the  present  deficiencies  of  country  life  may  reach 
a  solution ;  but,  in  doing  so,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that 
the  rural  life  problem  is  to  be  treated  as  a  united  whole. 
An  attempt  to  better  some  one  phase  of  country  life 
while  ignoring  the  others  will  meet  with  failure.  Thus, 
for  example,  it  becomes  impractical  to  attempt  the 
betterment  of  rural  school  conditions  while  ignoring 
the  social  and  economic  questions  of  the  community, 


APPENDIX 

or  to  improve  country  church  life  while  holding  aloof 
from  participation  in  educational  affairs  —  albeit  these 
lie  beyond  the  province  of  ordinary  school  and  church 
practice.  Educators  and  other  workers  to  make  head- 
way with  the  composite  problem  must  be  prepared  to 
consider  at  least  the  factors  which  follow  below.  With- 
out a  full  understanding  of  all  of  these,  their  work  in 
behalf  of  community  betterment  will  be  seriously 
curtailed. 

Isolation.  —  The  most  striking  thing  about  country 
life  is  its  comparative  isolation.  Men  are  by  nature 
gregarious.  And  where  they  are  separated  by  relatively 
long  distances,  as  in  the  average  farm  community,  this 
is  accomplished  at  the  loss  of  a  keener  social  existence. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  what  the  American  farmer  has 
gained  in  individualism,  independence,  and  self-reliance, 
is  more  than  counterbalanced  in  a  loss  through  social 
stagnation.  The  power  of  suggestion  which  comes 
where  many  gather  is  enough  to  overcome  the  habits 
and  conventions  of  the  few  and  will  save  the  individual 
from  becoming  narrow  and  introspective.  Farm  life 
tends  toward  the  latter. 

The  country  village  —  which  is  a  part  of  the  country 
community  —  suffers  in  much  the  same  way.  While 
not  isolated  in  just  the  sense  that  the  farm  is,  the  power 
of  suggestion  in  the  few  groups  of  families  there  gathered 
is  insufficient  to  furnish  a  spirit  of  genuine  cooperation. 


APPENDIX  337 

The  result  is  that  the  country  village  partakes  of  some 
of  the  worst  elements  of  farm  life  and  a  few  of  the  worst 
of  city  life  —  it  is  neither  truly  individualistic  nor  cooper- 
ative in  spirit. 

Means  of  Communication.  —  This  social  stagnation 
may  be  remedied  in  several  ways.  First  of  mention 
comes  a  craving  for  better  means  of  communication. 
With  distance  annihilated,  much  of  the  isolation  will 
disappear.  Here  is  a  vast  field  of  opportunity  for  the 
sincere  worker.  It  is  really  unnecessary  to  mention 
the  great  good  already  done  through  the  establishment 
of  free  rural  delivery,  the  introduction  of  the  rural  tele- 
phone, the  building  of  better  roads,  and  the  extension 
of  trolley  lines  into  the  country.  But  the  one  thing 
to  emphasize  is  that  the  beginnings  only  have  been  made. 
Many  farm  communities,  for  instance,  do  not  yet 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  "  good  roads."  Here  the 
example  of  such  a  social  reformer  as  John  Frederic 
Oberlin  may  well  be  emulated.  This  Lutheran  clergy- 
man came  as  pastor  to  a  poor  mountain  parish  (Stein thai) 
on  the  border  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  in  1767,  and  in  a 
short  time  wrought  great  changes  in  the  character  and 
condition  of  his  parishioners.  But,  let  this  be  borne  in 
mind,  he  began  by  building  roads  and  bridges,  laying 
the  first  stones  with  his  own  hands!  Some  of  the  most 
successful  among  country  teachers,  pastors,  and  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  workers  have  won  their 


338  APPENDIX 

hold  upon  the  country  community  through  advocacy 
of  similar  fundamental  work. 

Recreation.  —  Greatly  enlarged  facilities  for  organized 
recreation  of  young  and  old  alike  are  second  to  be  con- 
sidered. Farm  people  do  not  take  enough  time  for  play 
and  rest  from  labor.  What  is  more,  so  much  of  the 
recreation  that  is  common  to  country  life  is  unwholesome, 
and  is  to  a  greater  degree  than  the  average  man  imagines 
given  to  bad  practices  and  immoral  suggestion.  In 
early  times  we  had  the  barn  raising,  the  quilting,  the 
husking  bee,  the  singing  school,  and  the  folk  dance. 
Since  farm  life  has  become  systematized  and  reduced 
to  soil  tilling  exclusively,  too  much  of  labor  and  drudgery 
has  crept  in,  with  too  little  tune  to  live,  to  associate 
with  one's  fellows.  In  many  localities  it  means  labor 
from  starlight  to  starlight.  The  result  is  that  great 
numbers  of  young  men  and  young  women  with  strongly 
developed  social  instincts  have  abandoned  the  country 
for  the  towns  and  cities,  in  search  of  things  that  country 
life  as  it  exists  denies  them.  The  country  towns  and 
villages  have  responded  to  this  very  demand  for  recrea- 
tion which  the  open  country  has  been  unable  to  furnish, 
and  are  offering  all  comers  a  cheap,  artificial  amusement 
life,  often  quite  immoral  and  vicious.  Finally,  where 
the  livelong  day  is  spent  in  work,  an  outlet  for  the 
pent-up  energy  is  sought  on  Sunday.  Whether  we 
like  it  or  not,  Sunday  in  the  country  has  become  a  holi- 


APPENDIX  339 

day  more  than  a  holy  day.  Aside  from  the  many  really 
innocent  pastimes  summed  up  in  neighborly  calls  and 
community  gatherings  on  Sunday,  this  day  is  quite 
generally  given  over  to  baseball,  horse  racing,  and,  in 
some  places,  to  carousals  reflecting  but  little  credit  on 
an  otherwise  wholesome  country  life. 

A  new  kind  of  recreational  life  must  be  worked  out 
through  each  of  the  great  country  institutions  —  the 
home,  the  school,  and  the  church.  Certain  definite 
things  are  expected  from  the  parents.  The  teacher  will 
organize  the  play  life  of  the  school  and  even  go  so  far 
as  to  interest  the  older  youth  and  adults  in  many  kinds 
of  play  life,  athletics,  and  club  work.  In  New  York 
State  and  elsewhere  entire  counties  are  organized  into 
annual  play  festivals,  which  include  the  old  folks. 

The  organized  country  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation is  doing  remarkable  things  for  rural  recreation 
in  some  sections.  The  Grange,  which  is  the  country 
people's  own  social  institution,  and  in  the  South  the 
Farmer's  Union  are  accomplishing  no  little  good 
where  the  orders  are  well  established.  But  all  this 
is  just  a  beginning.  Nowhere,  it  seems,  is  there  greater 
opportunity  for  home  mission  work  than  here.  Con- 
secrated men  and  women  are  needed  to  help  foster 
the  social  instincts  which  are  at  this  time  necessary  to 
bind  together  our  over-individualistic  country  people 
for  a  fuller  cooperation  and  a  more  complete  country  life. 


34°  APPENDIX 

The  Farm  Woman's  Lot.  —  These  things  can  also  be 
hastened  by  making  the  average  farm  woman's  lot  more 
attractive  than  it  is.  She  lives  too  much  of  a  humdrum 
existence.  Her  little  world  is  hemmed  in  by  the  limi- 
tations of  the  barn  lot.  In  these  respects  her  husband 
is  more  fortunate,  since  he  is  in  touch  with  the  outer 
world  and  thus  acquires  a  world  outlook.  This  is  an 
unfortunate  condition.  The  farm  home  cannot  be 
raised  socially  until  its  mistress  is  given  time  to  broaden 
her  own  life  ideals.  Labor-saving  appliances  and  home 
conveniences  are  beginning  to  appear  in  some  homes. 
These  will  relieve  the  woman  from  much  of  the  old 
drudgery  and  allow  time  for  acquaintanceship  with  her 
beautiful  natural  environment,  which  in  all  likelihood, 
she  may  never  have  known.  It  is,  indeed,  good  for  a 
working  woman  to  enjoy  a  beautiful  sunset  occasionally, 
and  to  work  among  the  flowers  without  having  to  worry 
about  the  potatoes  and  cabbages.  Especially  is  it 
necessary  that  she  shall  have  time  to  meet  with  others 
of  her  own  sex,  at  the  mothers'  meetings  and  the  farm 
women's  clubs.  Emancipate  the  country  woman  from 
her  drudgery,  and  much  that  is  sordid  and  unattractive 
in  country  life  will  pass  away.  City  women,  with 
their  many  opportunities  for  self-improvement,  owe 
their  country  sisters  a  helping  hand  in  this  search 
after  a  fuller  life. 

Cooperative    Organization.  —  Country    people    must 


ONE-TEACHER  RURAL  SCHOOL. 

Well  built  and  well  kept.  It  has  sanitary  quarters  for  the  children,  including 
large  playground  and  garden.  It  has  a  suite  of  seven  rooms  for  the 
teacher  and  his  family,  who  live  here  the  year  round.  When  it  shall  be- 
come incumbent  on  American  districts  to  provide  permanent  homes  for 
their  teachers,  the  married  man  teacher  will  return  to  his  profession  in 
the  country. 


LARGER  RURAL  SCHOOL. 

This  is  of  the  consolidated  type.     It  contains,  among  other  things,  separate 
living  Quarters  for  two  married  teachers  and  two  unmarried  teachers. 


APPENDIX  341 

become  better  organized  than  they  are.  Cooperative 
organizations  of  all  kinds  are  imperative.  It  is  well 
enough  to  know  how  to  produce  the  raw  materials, 
but  it  is  as  important  to  know  how  to  manufacture  them 
and  place  them  in  the  hands  of  the  consumers  at  the 
smallest  cost.  Here  is  a  fundamental  weakness  in  our 
agricultural  life.  There  must  be  more  genuine  coopera- 
tion in  dairying,  in  poultry  raising,  in  fruit  culture,  and 
in  marketing.  There  must  be  buying  and  selling  asso- 
ciations of  many  kinds.  Unnecessary  middlemen  are 
to  be  eliminated,  a  condition  which  will  mean  that  the 
farmer  is  to  get  more  for  his  products  and  the  consumer  is 
to  pay  less.  Such  organizations  are  especially  needed  to 
advance  social,  educational,  and  ethical  interests.  Pub- 
lic gatherings,  festival  days,  literary  clubs,  reading  clubs, 
public  health  societies,  and  the  like  fall  under  this  head. 
City  life  is  highly  organized;  country  life  is  generally 
unorganized.  Organization  is  a  test  of  efficiency. 
The  country  community  must  be  taught  the  wisdom  of 
this. 

There  are  now  left  for  discussion  two  great  institu- 
tions, the  school  and  the  church.-  Of  these  the  school 
comes  in  for  first  mention. 

The  Rural  School  a  Prominent  Factor. — The  school 
has  had  its  face  toward  the  city,  drawing  therefrom  its 
sentiments,  its  teachers,  and  its  course  of  study.  It 
has  broken  the  fundamental  law :  that  any  form  of 


342  APPENDIX 

education,  to  be  effective,  must  reflect  the  daily  life  and 
interests  of  the  community  employing  it.  Our  country 
schools  must  offer  an  agricultural  education;  that  is, 
must  prepare  for  satisfactory  agricultural  life.  This 
has  not  been  done.  "  And,"  says  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
Commission  on  Country  Life,  "  the  schools  are  held 
largely  responsible  for  ineffective  farming,  lack  of  ideals, 
and  the  drift  to  town."  The  task  now  is  to  put  the  school 
in  harmony  with  the  needs  of  present-day  life.  This 
means  that  several  important  changes  must  be  brought 
about : 

(i)  There  must  be  a  thorough  redirection  of  the  sub- 
ject matter  taught  in  the  school;  (2)  there  must  be  a 
general  reorganization  of  the  entire  working  staff  of 
school  boards,  superintendents,  and  teachers;  (3)  the 
entire  school  plant  must  be  rebuilt ;  and  (4)  education 
must  be  carried  into  the  farm  home  through  various 
kinds  of  extension  courses.  Lack  of  space  forbids  a 
detailed  exposition  of  the  above  statements.  Briefly 
then :  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land 
are  scattered  thousands  of  weak  one-teacher  schools  — 
schools  which  were  good  enough  in  the  days  of  early 
land  exploitation.  With  the  shifting  of  population 
they  have  become  small  and  weak,  poorly  taught,  and 
poorly  paid.  They  have  become  "  retarded  "  and  are 
now  no  longer  able  to  cope  with  our  new  agricultural 
conditions.  In  some  sections  these  small  schools  must 


APPENDIX  343 

persist  indefinitely,  chiefly  on  account  of  geographical 
reasons.  Here  the  most  will  have  to  be  made  of  a 
bad  situation  by  providing  good,  well-trained  and  well- 
paid  teachers,  who  understand  present-day  country 
needs,  and  who,  withal,  have  the  right  vision  of  the  new 
country  life. 

But  the  movement,  now  beginning  to  spread  across 
the  continent,  as  stated  in  the  body  of  the  book, 
contemplates  the  consolidation  of  the  many  weakling 
schools  in  a  few,  centrally  located,  graded  farmers' 
schools.  Such  schools,  offering  eight  grades  of  ele- 
mentary work,  together  with  from  one  to  four  years  of 
high  school  work,  are  springing  up  by  the  thousands, 
a  single  state  alone  counting  as  many  as  six  hundred. 

The  new  school  will  do  for  the  country  community 
what  the  old  was  incapable  of  doing ;  namely,  train  the 
boys  to  become  scientific  farmers  and  the  girls  practical 
farmers'  helpmeets.  It  is  beginning  to  inculcate  a 
wholesome  love  for  country  life,  and  may  be  expected 
to  counteract  the  townward  exodus.  But  more  — 
from  this  school  must  come  many  impulses  to  organize 
the  country  people  on  a  more  permanent  social  and 
economic  basis.  It  will  become  the  center  of  much 
community  interest  to  be  shared  by  it  with  the  new 
social  service  church. 

Rural  Church  Reconstruction.  —  Overchurching  and 
denominational  rivalry  aided  by  the  shift  in  population, 


344  APPENDIX 

have  brought  the  country  church  face  to  face  with  a 
crisis.  If  the  church  were  to  surrender  its  leadership 
at  this  time,  when  so  much  is  at  stake,  it  would  cause 
little  short  of  a  calamity.  The  strong  young  men  and 
women  of  correct  vision  and  initiative  who  are  to  set 
up  new  standards  of  living  in  the  country  community 
should  acquire  their  preparation  under  the  inspiration 
and  guidance  of  religious  motives.  The  tendency  of 
the  day  is  to  reduce  everything  to  worldly  standards. 
The  church  has  been  the  saving  force  in  the  habits  and 
moral  conduct  of  country  people;  it  must  ever  con- 
tinue as  such.  But  the  church  stands  not  alone  for 
ethical  idealism  —  it  stands  for  esthetical  idealism  as 
well.  The  school  may  teach  a  love  of  nature  in  its 
pupils  and  then  lead  them  to  a  love  of  nature's  God. 
The  church,  on  the  other  hand,  teaches  its  membership 
that  the  bounties  and  wonders  of  nature  are  the  handi- 
work of  God,  and  through  him  they  learn  to  live  in  the 
closest  communion  with  the  wonders  of  nature  round 
about  them. 

Interdenominational  Cooperation.  —  The  call  must 
now  go  out  to  all  denominations  for  cooperation  in  be- 
half of  the  country  church.  Thoughtful  Christians  must 
prepare  to  lay  aside  doctrinal  differences,  ancient  preju- 
dices, and  denominational  sentiment,  and  meet  on  the 
common  ground  of  faith  in  one  God.  Thoroughgoing 
reorganization  coming  from  within  the  several  denomi- 


RURAL  CHURCH  NEAR  HORSENS,  JUTLAND. 

The  rural  church  still  lies  in  the  midst  of  the  rural  community,  blessing  it  and 
holding  it  together. 


RURAL  MANSE  AT  VALLEKILDE,  ZEALAND. 

All  the  pastors  in  rural  Denmark  live  in  the  midst  of  their  flocks,  where  they 
can  minister  to  the  needs  of  the  people  all  the  time,  and  so  become 
leaders  in  both  spiritual  and  temporal  matters. 


APPENDIX  345 

nations,  together  with  harmonious  cooperation  between 
denominations  are  probably  the  means  through  which 
the  solution  must  come. 

Conclusion.  —  In  the  body  of  this  book  has  been  told 
the  story  of  the  rebirth  of  Danish  agricultural  life. 
The  place  of  education  in  the  great  rehabilitation  has 
been  clearly  set  forth.  Without  the  work  of  the  schools 
the  great  tasks  inspired  at  a  time  of  distress  could  not 
have  been  carried  to  the  successful  fruition  that  they  have 
been.  In  the  United  States,  the  future  of  agricultural 
life  must  depend  in  a  large  measure  on  the  leadership 
from  within  the  ranks  of  the  agriculturists  themselves. 
Just  how  broad,  how  strong  this  guiding  force  of 
the  future  shall  become,  will  rest  upon  the  successful 
reorganization  of  the  American  rural  schools,  rural 
churches,  and  their  kindred  organizations. 


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DENMARK 

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Scandinavian  Countries.    In  Conference  for  Education  in 

the  South,  Proceedings,  1911,  p.  161-71. 
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M.  Nijhoff,  1912,  p.  1045-50. 
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George  Newnes,  Ltd.,  240  p. 
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J.  Pott  &  Co. ;  London,  Methuen  &  Co.,  1909,  p.  52-62,  illus. 
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1009,  p.  198-203. 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  RURAL  EDUCATION  347 

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Alexander  Thorn  &  Co.,  1913. 
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348  BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF  RURAL  EDUCATION 

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INDEX 


Agricultural  schools,  place  of,  70; 
scientific  training  procured  at,  75- 
76 ;  when  entered  by  the  farm  boys, 
157-158;  description  of  work  at 
Lyngby,  150-163 ;  work  and  course 
of  study  at  Dalum,  163-166;  work 
and  course  of  study  at  Ladelund, 
167-173;  Royal  Veterinary  and 
Agricultural  Institute,  the  central 
agricultural  school,  171-173. 

Agriculture,  most  important  factor  in 
Danish  national  life,  10-20;  lessons 
for  Americans,  34-36;  reorganiza- 
tion of,  in  the  United  States,  304-305. 

American  rural  life,  history  of  changes 
in,  324;  the  pioneers,  324-325 ;  the 
household  farmers,  325-326;  de- 
velopment of,  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  326-328;  effect  of  indus- 
trial revolution  on,  328-329;  place 
of  rural  church  in,  329-331. 

American  schools  of  agriculture,  charge 
against,  38-39. 

Amt  school  directory,  organization  of, 
84-86. 

Askov  Folk  High  School,  18-19; 
enlargement  of,  262-263;  variety 
of  courses  in,  263-267 ;  great  names 
associated  with,  267-268;  begin- 
nings of  "extension  work"  at,  268- 
271 ;  Skibelund  Krat,  268-270. 

Athletics,  place  of,  in  everyday  life,  64. 


B 


Back-to-the-land,  call  of,  6. 

Bacon  factories,  11-12. 

Bailey,  Liberty  Hyde,  quoted,  58-59. 

Bay,  John  Christian,  quoted,  199. 


Begtrup,  Holger,  quoted,  247,  249. 

Benneke,  Valdemar,  quoted  by  Thorn- 
ton, 281-282. 

Berry  Country  Life  Schools,  history 
of,  317-310. 

Blem,  M.  P.,  quoted,  50,  191-192. 

Bredsdorf,  Thomas,  quoted,  245. 

Breeding  centers,  9-11. 

Brochner,  Jessie,  quoted,  38. 


Census,  changes  in  population  accord- 
ing to,  5. 

Centralized  schools,  organization  of, 
in  the  United  States,  306;  lessons 
for,  307-308. 

Church,  place  of,  in  school  matters, 
83-84.  (See  also  Rural  church.) 

Communal  or  parish  commission, 
organization  of,  85-86. 

Communication,  means  of,  337-338. 

Compulsory  attendance,  regulations 
for,  in  elementary  schools,  91-92; 
enforcement  of,  92-94 ;  enforcement 
of,  in  elementary  schools,  154-155. 

Conservation,  work  of,  21-22. 

Control  unions,  work  of,  9-11 ;  credit 
arrangements  of,  in  agricultural  sys- 
tem, 49-51 ;  remarkably  small  losses 
of,  50-51. 

CoSperation,  remarkable  growth  of, 
7-10;  in  buying  and  selling,  39-40; 
in  dairying,  40-41 ;  in  bacon  pro- 
duction, 43-44;  through  man-vote 
associations,  44;  need  of,  among 
American  farmers,  340-341. 

Course  of  study,  in  elementary  schools, 
102-105;  in  teachers'  seminaries, 
135-136;  short  courses  in  modern 
schools,  310-311. 


352 


INDEX 


Culture,  dissemination  of,  through  the 
folk  high  schools,  37-38. 


Daily  Morning  Leader,  London,  quoted, 
285-286. 

Dairies,  organization  and  importance 
of,  40-42. 

Dalgas,  E.  M.,  life  work  of,  19;  or- 
ganizing the  Danish  Heather  So- 
ciety, 25-26. 

Dalum  Agricultural  School,  work  and 
courses  in,  163-166. 

Danebod  Folk  High  School,  origin 
and  history  of,  298-299. 

Danish  Agricultural  Museum,  de- 
scribed, 162-163. 

Danish  Heather  Society,  organization 
of,  25-27 ;  its  reclamation  work, 
26-27 !  its  regulation  of  height  of 
surface  water,  20-31. 

Deanery  School  directory,  organiza- 
tion of,  85. 

Denmark,  topography  and  area,  1-2; 
soil  and  climate,  2 ;  change  in  agri- 
cultural system,  3;  annual  exports, 

3- 
Drainage  hi  Jutland,  31-32. 


Eggs,  science  in  the  exportation  of,  46. 

Ejby  Rural  School,  organization  of, 
98-99;  story  of  work  in,  112-115. 

Elementary  schools,  statement  of,  69; 
place  in  educational  scheme,  70-71 ; 
history  of,  78-82 ;  school  directories 
and  school  boards  of,  84-86 ;  course 
of  study  in,  99-100;  class  organiza- 
tion in,  101-102 ;  school  subjects 
in,  102-105 ;  methods  of  instruction 
in,  105-106;  textbooks  used  in, 
105-106;  plans  of,  121-128;  gar- 
dens in,  128-129;  playgrounds  hi, 
120-130;  preparation  of  teachers 
for,  131-132 ;  how  to  become  per- 
manent teachers  in,  137-138;  length 
of  tenure  and  age  of  teachers  in, 
138-140;  salaries  of  teachers  in, 


141-145;  pensions  of  teachers  in, 
146-148 ;  a  study  of  value  to  Ameri- 
can educators,  151 ;  organization 
and  maintenance  of,  in  Denmark, 
153-154- 

Elk  Horn  Folk  High  School,  origin 
of,  284-295 ;  history  of,  to  date,  295- 
296. 

England,  folk  high  schools  organized 
in,  281-291. 

Estates,  parceling  out  of,  11-12. 

Extension  work,  organized  at  Askov, 
267-271;  courses  of ,  through  Ameri- 
can consolidated  schools,  309-310. 


Farmers,  what  they  must  learn,  39. 

Farmers'  Union,  work  of,  339. 

Farms,  size  of,  12 ;  classification  of,  51. 

Feast  days  and  hospitality,  significance 
to  satisfactory  social  life,  60. 

Finland,  system  of  folk  high  schools 
in,  279-280. 

Fircroft  College,  organized  on  folk 
high  school  plan,  282 ;  its  origin, 
282-284;  methods  of  instruction 
and  study  courses  in,  284-285 ; 
symposium  on  the  value  of,  by  old 
students,  286-290. 

Folk  high  schools,  in  agricultural 
reorganization,  69;  aims  of,  sum- 
marized, 74-75 ;  further  influence 
of,  on  agricultural  life,  188-189; 
testimony  for,  by  economists  and 
schoolmen,  180-193;  their  owner- 
ship, number,  and  organization 
of,  216-217;  training  of  teachers 
in,  217-218;  who  the  students  are, 
218-223;  state  aid  for,  223-226; 
cost  of  schooling  in,  226-227 ;  demo- 
cratic organization  of,  227-228; 
spirit  of  the  teaching  in,  228-230; 
two  kinds  of,  230-231;  subjects  of 
particular  interest,  231-232 ;  gym- 
nastics and  play  life  hi,  232-233; 
work  in,  that  makes  thinkers  of  men, 
234-235 ;  historical  study  in,  235- 
237 ;  spiritual  growth  in,  237-242 ; 
story  of  Roskilde  Folk  High  School, 


INDEX 


353 


243-246 ;  the  inspiring  Fredriksborg 
Folk  High  School,  246-250;  the 
great  Folk  High  School  at  Valle- 
kilde,  250-255;  Haslev  Folk  High 
School,  255-259;  Ryslinge  Folk 
High  School,  250-261;  Askov  "Ex- 
panded" Folk  High  School,  262- 
271;  adaptability  of,  272-273;  in 
Sweden,  273-276;  in  Norway,  276- 
279;  in  Finland,  270-280;  in  Eng- 
land, 281-291 ;  in  the  United  States, 
292-303 ;  feasibility  of  adapting, 
to  American  conditions,  303-322. 

Fredriksborg  Folk  High  School,  story 
of,  origin  and  work  in,  246-250. 

Fyn  Stift's  School  for  smallholders, 
organization  and  purpose  of,  181- 
182;  model  smallholding  at,  183- 
184. 


G 


Gamborg  rural  school,  plan  of,  126- 
128. 

Gardens,  provisions  for,  128-129. 

German  War  of  1864,  effects  of,  18-20. 

Grange  (Patrons  of  Husbandry),  work 
of,  339- 

Grundtvig,  Bishop  Nikolai  Frederik 
Severin,  work  of,  19;  life  story 
of,  193-208;  his  gospel  of  youth, 
198-200;  his  early  idea  of  what  a 
folk  high  school  ought  to  be,  200- 
205;  he  invites  King  Christian 
VIII  to  open  a  "Royal  Free  School 
for  Life,"  205-206. 

Gymnastics,  system  of,  at  Ryslinge 
Rural  School,  107-108;  in  the  folk 
high  schools,  232-234. 


II 


Haraldsborg     School     of     Household 

Economics,  organization  and  course 

of  study  in,  186-187. 
Haslev,    Zealand,    bacon    factory    at, 

44-46. 
Haslev  Folk  High  School,  foundation 

of,     255-256;     study    courses    in, 

256-259. 


Himmelev  Rural  School,  organization 
of,  by  days  and  half-days,  98. 

Hjortespring  Rural  School,  story  of 
work  in,  115-117. 

Hogsbro,  Svend,  the  father  of  Danish 
cooperation,  19. 

Hollmann,  Dr.  A.  H.,  quoted,  197, 
201,  203,  204,  213. 

Household  economics  schools,  work 
of,  75-76;  further  explanation  of, 
184-185 ;  Haraldsborg  school  near 
Roskilde,  186-187. 

Hvilan  Folk  High  School  and  Agri- 
cultural School,  275-276. 


Industrial    revolution,    movement    of 

population  in,  4-5;    effects  of,  on 

rural  population,  328-329. 
Irrigation,  projects  of,  in  Jutland,  31- 

32. 
Isolation,    its   role   in   the   rural   life 

movement,  336-337. 


Juhl,  A.  P.,  quoted,  295. 
Jutish    Heath,     restoration    of,     22- 
24. 


Kjerehave  School  for  Smallholders, 
purpose  of,  174-175;  equipment 
of,  176;  variety  of  courses  in,  176- 
181. 

Kauselunde  (see  Gamborg). 

Kold,  Kristen,  work  of,  19 ;  life  story 
told,  200-214. 


La  Cour,  Captain  J.  C.,  quoted, 
158. 

La  Cour,  Poul,  quoted,  100. 

Ladelund  Agricultural  School,  descrip- 
tion of  work  in,  167-171. 

Landlordism,  absentee  or  otherwise, 
11-12;  curse  of,  332-333. 


354 


INDEX 


M 

Maintenance  of  schools,  through  state 
aid,  87-88;  through  permanent 
funds,  88-89;  through  local  taxa- 
tion, 89-90. 

Markets,  place  of,  in  economic  and 
social  life,  65-66. 

Ministry  of  Education  and  Eccle- 
siastical Affairs,  head  of  national 
school  system,  82 ;  its  powers  and 
duties,  82-83. 

Model  farms  and  homes,  purpose  and 
organization  of,  72-74. 

Moller,  Aage,  quoted,  297. 

"Moonlight"  schools,  organization  of, 
315-316. 

N 

Nielsen,  Hans,  story  of,  51-56. 

Nielsen-Klodskov,  N.  J.,  quoted,  174- 
175- 

Norway,  Folk  High  Schools  in,  276- 
279;  history  of  folk  high  schools  in, 
276-278;  some  difficulties  encoun- 
tered, 278-279. 

Nysted  Folk  High  School,  origin  and 
history  of,  296-298. 


Outlook  on  life,  correct,  15. 


Pensions,     of     elementary     teachers, 

146-148;    graded  scale  of,  147-148. 
Playgrounds    in    elementary    schools, 

129-130. 
Plunkett,    Sir    Horace,    quoted,    192, 

229-230,  260-261. 
Population,  shift   in,  compared   with 

similar    movement    in    the    United 

States,  5. 
Poulsen,  Alfred,  quoted,  191,  261-262. 

R 

Rural  Life  Movement  in  the  United 
States,     significance     of,     323-324; 


what  the  movement  is  not,  333- 
334 ;  what  it  is,  334-335 ;  the  chief 
factors  of :  isolation,  336-337 ; 
means  of  communication,  337-338; 
recreation,  338-339;  farm  women, 
340;  cooperative  organization,  340- 
341;  rural  school,  341-343;  rural 
church,  343-344 ;  interdenomina- 
tional cooperation,  344—345. 
Ryslinge  Folk  High  School,  its  origin, 
259-260;  its  attractive  buildings, 
261. 

S 

Salaries  of  rural  teachers,  141-145. 

Schoolhouses,  construction  of,  118; 
building  site  for,  118-119;  rules 
governing  the  sanitation  of,  110- 
120;  plans  of,  121-128. 

Schools,  responsibility  of  rural,  for 
agricultural  prosperity,  68-70;  ele- 
mentary, 69;  folk  high,  60-70; 
agricultural,  70;  household  eco- 
nomics, 75-76;  special,  for  small- 
holders, 76-77;  maintenance  of, 
86-87 ;  adapting  work  of,  to  rural 
needs,  156;  statement  on  reorgan- 
ization of,  305-308;  rural  school  a 
factor  in  the  rural  life  movement, 
341-343;  smallhold  schools,  special 
work  in,  76-77. 

Schools  for  smallholders,  organization 
of,  174;  Kserehave  at  Ringsted,  174- 
181 ;  Fyn  Stiffs  School  at  Odense, 
181-184. 

School  year,  length  of,  in  elementary 
schools,  94-96;  division  of  school 
days  in,  96-99. 

Schroder,  Ludvig,  quoted,  207,  237. 

Seminaries,  for  the  preparation  of  ele- 
mentary teachers,  132-137 ;  re- 
quirements for  matriculation  in, 
132-134;  courses  in,  for  elementary 
teachers,  135-136. 

Serfdom,  conditions  of,  16. 

Singing,  place  of,  in  rural  life,  64. 

Skalsaa,  project  for  its  water  regula- 
tion, 30-31. 

Skibelund  Krat,  a  center  of  "extension 
work,"  268-271. 


INDEX 


355 


Smallhold  farmers,  what  they  can 
teach,  51-56. 

Smallholdings,  large  estates  parceled 
out  as,  11-12;  law  for  the  creation 
of,  49. 

Social  life,  satisfactory  conditions 
of,  12-14;  conditions  of,  in  rural 
America,  57-58;  in  harmony  with 
its  natural  environment,  58-60; 
trained  artisans  a  factor  in,  60-6 1. 

Societies  for  buying  and  selling,  num- 
ber and  success  of,  30-40. 

Sohlman,  Dr.  August,  quoted,  273-274. 

Soil,  first  attempts  at  reclaiming,  24- 
25;  removing  the  "evil  principle" 
from,  32-34;  condition  of,  in  the 
islands,  34. 

South  Atlantic  Highland,  a  good  place 
to  which  to  adapt  the  Danish  folk 
high  school  system,  313-315. 

Stewart,  Mrs.  Cora  Wilson,  quoted, 
316. 

Sweden,  folk  high  schools  in,  273-276; 
Hvilan  Folk  High  School  in,  275- 
276. 

T 

Teachers,  in  elementary  schools,  71 ; 
homes  of,  described,  121-128;  gar- 
dens of,  1 28-1 29 ;  preparation  of,  for 
elementary  schools,  131-132;  semi- 
naries, 132-137 ;  courses  for,  135- 
136;  how  to  become  permanent, 
137-138;  tenure  and  age  of,  138- 
140;  salaries  and  other  remunera- 
tion of,  141-146;  pensions  of,  146- 
148;  conditions  of,  in  the  United 
States,  152-153. 

Teaching,  a  life  profession  hi  Denmark, 
151-152- 

Tenants,  small  number  of,  in  Denmark, 
11-12;  curse  of,  in  the  United 
States,  332-333- 


Tenure  of  elementary  teachers,  138- 
140. 

Thornton,  J.  S.,  quoted,  281-282, 
290-201. 

Trier,  Ernst,  quoted,  250. 

"Trifolium"  dairy,  8;  its  work  de- 
scribed, 41-42. 


United  States,  transplantation  of  folk 
high  schools  to,  292-302 ;  hindrances 
to  satisfactory  growth  of  Danish 
system  in,  200-302;  feasibility 
of  adapting  Danish  folk  high  schools 
to  conditions  in,  303-332;  why 
there  is  need  of  schools  for  "grown- 
ups" in,  311-313;  such  schools  in 
the  South  Atlantic  Highland  of, 
3I3-3I5- 

United  States  Bureau  of  Education, 
bulletin  of,  quoted,  312. 


Vallekilde  Folk  High  School,  origin 
of,  250;  equipment  of,  250-252; 
attendance  and  courses ;  253 ;  gym- 
nastics and  song  in,  253-254 ;  story 
of  Ingeborg  Trier  and  "Hytten," 
254-255. 

Vor  Frue  Landsogns  School,  organiza- 
tion of  classes  in,  06-97;  story  of 
work  in,  109-112;  plan  of,  121. 


Woman,  her  work  on  the  farm,  340. 


Y.  M.  C.  A.,  work  of,  in  rural  districts, 
339- 


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